Matt Damon Once Tried to Mansplain How Diversity Worked in Hollywood to Black Female Producer

There are times when even Hollywood veterans end up fumbling during interviews and press tours, and Matt Damon has also had such experiences. At one point, while discussing diversity with an African-American female producer named Effie Brown, Damon possibly did not think twice before mansplaining how diversity works in Hollywood. As a result, cringeworthy footage of the moment is still making rounds on the internet.

According to USA Today, Damon was having a conversation with Brown in the fourth season premiere of HBO's Project Greenlight in 2015. Brown, who had been credited with producing 17 feature films by that point, pointed out that black characters in movies were mostly portrayed in a stereotypical and distasteful manner. Brown mentioned that the black character in one of the movies she was a part of was that of a prostitute who got slapped by her white pimp. Brown suggested hiring more people of color to work behind the scenes in order to combat such an issue. 

This was when Damon decided to interrupt Brown and remarked, "When we're talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show," before getting a shocking look from Brown as a response. In essence, Damon meant that as long as the cast of a certain project was diverse, the people making the show needn't worry about diversity, as per Newsweek. Brown, too, was only able to say "wow" when the incident transpired. Later, Variety obtained a statement from Damon where he apologized for causing any offense and clarified his previous words.

"I believe deeply that there need to be more diverse filmmakers making movies. I love making movies. It’s what I have chosen to do with my life and I want every young person watching ‘Project Greenlight’ to believe that filmmaking is a viable form of creative expression for them too," he told the outlet. "My comments were part of a much broader conversation about diversity in Hollywood and the fundamental nature of ‘Project Greenlight’ which did not make the show. I am sorry that they offended some people, but, at the very least, I am happy that they started a conversation about diversity in Hollywood. That is an ongoing conversation that we all should be having.”

In a similar instance, Damon also received backlash when he revealed how he stopped using the 'F-slur' after his daughter made him see how it was offensive to people. Damon sat down for an interview with the UK's Sunday Times in 2021 and recalled how the term was 'commonly used when he was a kid.' “I made a joke, months ago, and got a treatise from my daughter. She left the table,” Damon told the outlet. “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."