Matt Damon is in hot water this week after seemingly telling the media that he only recently cut the homophobic “f-slur” out of his vocabulary. The Departed star is now issuing a statement to help clear the air. Gossip Cop has the story.
What Happened?
In an interview with The Times promoting Stillwater, Damon relayed an anecdote about his daughter asking him to cease his use of the f-word. In a perplexing anecdote (it pretty much came out of the blue) Damon said his daughter “wrote a very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous. I said, ‘I retire the f-slur!’ I understood.”
The backlash was immediate, with many questioning why Damon was only now confronting this word. Celebrities from Billy Eichner to George Takei took him to task for his callousness. Folks were utterly baffled why he thought this would be worth bringing up. Damon has heard the criticism and is now clearing the air.
Never Used It Derogativelly
In a statement obtained by People, Damon insisted that he has “never called anyone ‘f—t’ in my personal life,” and he does not use slurs at all. Damon elaborated on his story as well. He said he was attempting to contextualize how the word was used when he was growing up in Boston: “I explained that that word was used constantly and casually and was even a line of dialogue in a movie of mine [Stuck on You!] as recently as 2003. She, in turn, expressed incredulity that there could ever have been a time where that word was used unthinkingly.”
He added that he was proud of his daughter for her passion for social justice, and said: “to be as clear as I can be, I stand with the LGBTQ+ community.”
How Do Folks Feel?
Damon’s apology has had a mixed reception. Many are noting that the “f-slur” has always meant the same thing, regardless of Damon’s age. His timing is also unfortunate, as rapper DaBaby has also issued numerous apologies this week for incredibly homophobic comments.
Billy Eichner once again had a quick and simple retort.
The strangest part of all of this is that Damon did it to himself. He couldn’t have been misquoted on his original story… because he volunteered the story. Whether or not this apology will help or hinder Damon remains to be seen.
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