Matt Damon and Ben Affleck continue their press tour for Netflix’s The Rip with an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, where the hosts of the podcast of the same name and Damon reflected on Hollywood’s cancel culture. The Oscar nominee said some canceled actors probably would have chosen to go to jail and serve time rather than deal with the never-ending chaos that comes with “cancel culture.”
Logan explained that being “canceled” was “considered one thing you said or did, and now we’re going to exaggerate it to the max and kick you out of civilization for life” (via The Daily Beast).
“Forever,” Damon answered regarding the eternity of cancel culture. “Because I think some of those guys wanted to go to prison for 18 months or something and then come out and say, ‘I’ve paid my debts. I’m done. Can I be done?'” As for things like that being heavily criticized in public, it’s never going to end. And the first time it happens… you know, it just goes on to the grave. ”
Damon knows a thing or two about surviving internet outrage. In 2021, he infamously fought against cancel culture by saying in an interview with The Sunday Times that he stopped using the F-slur “only a few months ago” because his daughter wrote him a “paper” about “how dangerous that word is.” Damon clarified in a statement to Variety shortly afterwards that he has never used the word in his “private life” and that he “doesn’t use it as a slur of any kind.” He also asserted that he understands why the interview “led many people to assume the worst.”
“During a recent interview, I was reminded of a conversation I had with my daughter. I grew up in Boston and tried to explain for her the progress I’ve made since growing up in Boston and hearing the word ‘f*g’ being used on the street before I even knew what it referred to, though I’m never done with it,” Damon said in a statement. “I explained that the word was used casually all the time, and that in 2003 it was a line in my movie. She expressed disbelief that there was ever a time when the word was used without thought. To my admiration and pride, she said, No matter how culturally normalized Leaf was, she was very clear about how painful it was for someone in the LGBTQ+ community. Not only did I agree with her, I was excited by her passion and values and desire for social justice. ”
Damon continued, “I have never called anyone a ‘f**k’ in my personal life and this conversation with my daughter is not a personal awakening. I do not use slurs of any kind.” “I have learned that eliminating prejudice requires actively moving towards justice, rather than passively finding comfort in imagining ourselves as ‘one of the good guys.’ And given that overt hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community is still not uncommon, I understand why my comments caused many to assume the worst. To be as clear as possible, I stand with the LGBTQ+ community.”
Despite the controversy, Damon’s career was unaffected and he went on to star in films such as Air and Oppenheimer. He is set to return to screens later this year in the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.
Watch Damon and Affleck’s full interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in the video below.
