MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Is Matt Damon homophobic? Actor stopped using 'f-slur' after 'very long treatise' from daughter

Matt Damon's comments around how his daughter taught him not to use the word 'f****t', has made him 'lose respect' among his fans

Harvard-educated, Academy award winner Matt Damon in a new interview with the Sunday Times that he stopped using “the f-slur for a homosexual" because one of his four daughters, whom he shares with his wife Luciana, objected against its use while “at the table” with his family, news outlets reported on Monday, August 1.

The 'Good Will Hunting' actor claimed that he has learned to "shut the f*** up more" as a result of the recent societal shift, including "retiring" a homophobic insult from his vocabulary. Damon was recently in the news when his eldest daughter contracted the coronavirus and headed for quarantine in Scotland.

READ MORE

Love Victor’s Michael Cimino got 'homophobic' hate from his family over gay role

Kevin Hart's homophobic tweets slammed by prominent Hollywood actors as he steps down as Oscars host

Earlier, Damon, like Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Ryan Phillippe, had all turned down roles in the gay love story 'Brokeback Mountain'. Gus Van Sant, the director who has frequently collaborated with Damon, was approached to direct Ang Lee's groundbreaking 'Brokeback Mountain.' In an interview with IndieWire, the 65-year-old director recalled how his vision for the film was different and also revealed how “Nobody wanted to do it.”

Is Matt Damon homophobic?

Damon only realized why he shouldn't be tossing the homophobic slur about after reading a "very long" diatribe written by his daughter, Vulture reported. “I made a joke, months ago, and got a treatise from my daughter. She left the table. I said, ‘Come on, that’s a joke! I say it in the movie Stuck on You!’ She went to her room and wrote a very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous. I said, ‘I retire the f-slur!’ I understood,” he said.

Damon added the slur “was commonly used when I was a kid, with a different application." Damon also addressed some of the more contentious things he's made in the past, The Sunday Times reported. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the 'Good Will Hunting' star spoke out about the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the former film producer who helped launch Damon's career and is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence. “As the father of four daughters, this is the kind of sexual predation that keeps me up at night," he had controversially said in 2017, according to Yahoo!

With his 45-year-old wife, Luciana Barroso, the 'Jason Bourne' star, 50, has three daughters: Isabella, 15, Gia, 12, and Stella, 10. From a previous relationship, the actor is also a stepfather to Barroso's 22-year-old daughter, Alexia. But the actor's personal experience, which he shared without prompting, has sparked widespread outrage online, with many people taking to social media to claim they'd "lost respect" for him.

'Makes me sad'

"So Matt Damon just figured out "months ago", by way of a "treatise" from a child, that he's not supposed to say the word f*ggot. Months ago. Months ago," said a fan. "The fact that Matt Damon’s daughter had to explain to him that saying a slur is wrong is insane," said another. "This news bit about Matt Damon only recently deciding to stop saying "f****t" after his daughter wrote him a "treatise" on it just makes me sad. Geez." said a third.

'Why would he freely share that?'

"Why would matt damon freely share that lol," wondered a fan. "I’ve lost some respect for Matt Damon for two reasons: 1. Being a 51-year-old Harvard-educated person who only realized using homophobic slurs was a bad thing *months* ago; and 2. Being foolish enough to think that was a cute story he should share with the world," a second said. "Did Matt Damon think that telling this story in 2021 was going to make him sound woke? It makes him sound like a f*****g tool. Hey, Matt Damon. You're an a******e. How do you like them apples?" a third quipped.