Matt Damon has apologised for appearing to downplay the importance of diversity in film while judging the HBO reality show Project Greenlight, in which first-time directors are given the chance to make a movie.
Damon was heavily criticised on social media, with the hashtag #Damonsplaining trending on Twitter, after an awkward exchange with African-American producer Effie Brown on Sunday’s episode of the show, which he created with long-term partner Ben Affleck.
In the offending scene, Brown urges the judges on Project Greenlight to utilise caution in their selection of a directing team for the film project under review, pointing out that “the only black person” on screen is a “hooker who gets hit by her white pimp”. In the interests of diversity, she therefore suggests a team comprising an Asian man, Leo Angelos, and Kristen Brancaccio, a white film-maker who had earlier flagged the stereotypical characterisation of the black character.
But Damon immediately leaps in to point out that other, less diverse candidates had also pointed out the same issues with the script, and to apparently argue that diversity should not be an issue when considering the film-making team. “When we’re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show,” he says.
Brown’s taken-aback response is simply: “Wow. OK.”
Damon, who is known for championing liberal causes, compounded his faux pas with a later “talking heads” segment in which he again suggested diversity should not be an issue when considering the film-making team. “I’m glad Effie flagged the issue of diversity for all of us, because film-making should throw a broader net and it’s high time for that to change,” he said. “But ultimately, if you suddenly change the rules of this competition at the 11th hour, it just seems like you would undermine what the competition was supposed to be about, which is about giving somebody this job based entirely on merit, and leaving all other factors out of it. It’s just strictly a film-making competition. I think the whole point of this thing is that you go for the best director, period.”
In a statement, Damon said he was sorry for any offence caused and suggested his full views had not come across in the segments of the conversation with Brown shown to Project Greenlight viewers.
“I believe deeply that there need to be more diverse film-makers making movies,” the statement reads. “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 film-making is a viable form of creative expression for them too.
“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.”
Writing for Salon, gender and African studies expert Brittney Cooper said Damon’s statements “reflect a troubling belief in the myth of meritocracy … and in notions of racial colourblindness”. She wrote: “Many white men are taught to believe that they can tell any story well that they choose to tell. Whiteness, particularly white maleness, is situated as a marker of universality. The experiences of people of colour are marked as too particular to be universal. The idea that our experiences of race and gender shape and inform how we perceive narratives and how we tell stories, makes many, many people uncomfortable.”