Matt Damon claimed that he did not know about Harvey Weinstin’s antics before the ‘Me Too’ movement. The Weinstein Effect took over the world in 2017, leading to the widespread ‘Me Too’ movement. Prominent Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of s*xual misconduct by over eighty women.
Damon mentioned that if he had known that Weinstein was doing this at events he was present in, he would have stopped it. The actor, whose breakout film Good Will Hunting was produced by the disgraced movie mogul, also claimed that he did not pressure a journalist to bury an article that exposed Weinstein’s antics long before the movement.
Matt Damon Says He Would Have Stopped Harvey Weinstein If He Had Known About His Misconduct
The ‘Me Too’ movement started a revolution in starting conversations about s*xual assault perpetrated by powerful people. The likes of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs being exposed and accused of s*xual misconduct from more than 120 people is a direct result of the movement (via The Washington Post). And it started with Harvey Weinstein.
Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused of s*xual misconduct by over eighty women. Various accounts of assault, misconduct, and r*pe have been allegedly linked to the producer, with incidents dating back to the ‘80s (via Newsweek). The producer is currently serving time in New York.
While Weinstein was known for his ruthless style of running the business, the silence of Hollywood’s elite over incidents that reportedly took place for decades was deafening. Actor Matt Damon, who got his first Oscar for writing and starring in the Weinstein produced Good Will Hunting, claimed that he did not know about the producer’s antics. He said to Deadline,
I think a lot of actors have come out and said, everybody’s saying we all knew. That’s not true. This type of predation happens behind closed doors, and out of public view. If there was ever an event that I was at and Harvey was doing this kind of thing and I didn’t see it, then I am so deeply sorry, because I would have stopped it.
The actor also mentioned that the incidents made him sick, and as a father of four daughters, the exposure had made him more vigilant of these behaviors.
Matt Damon Revealed He Was Aware Of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Accusation Of Harvey Weinstein
While Matt Damon claimed that he was unaware of Harvey Weinstein’s s*xual misconduct allegations until it became groundbreaking news, the actor mentioned later that he was made aware of one of the accuser’s allegations years ago. Of the over eighty women who accused Weinstein of misconduct, actress Gwyneth Paltrow was one of them.
Paltrow reportedly claimed that the producer had invited her to a hotel room during her early years and had allegedly touched her inappropriately. She claimed that she had said it to her then-boyfriend Brad Pitt, who reportedly roughed up the producer. Damon told Rolling Stone magazine that he was made aware by his friend Ben Affleck, who dated Paltrow.
I knew the story about Gwyneth from Ben because he was with her after Brad [Pitt]. But I was working with Gwyneth, with Harvey, on [The Talented Mr. Ripley]. … I never talked to Gwyneth about it. Ben told me, but I knew that they had come to whatever agreement or understanding they had come to. She had handled it. She was the First Lady of Miramax, and he treated her incredibly respectfully.
Paltrow went on to win the Best Actress Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, which was produced by Weinstein’s Miramax Studios.
