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7 ugly implications of Matt Damon's comments about out gay actors

W!nston

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7 ugly implications of Matt Damon's comments about out gay actors
Yahoo | By Louis Virtel | September 28, 2015

2157693267714f009e059438469202b7939c641a.jpg

Matt Damon talked to The Guardian about out gay actors. It's discouraging.

In an interview with The Guardian, Matt Damon managed to say a lot of discouraging stuff about the lives and careers of gay actors in just a couple of quotes.

Here's the first dubious moment.

"I think you’re a better actor the less people know about you period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you’re straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality because that’s one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.'"

And here's the second, a strange review of out actor Rupert Everett's recent career.

"I remember thinking and saying, Rupert Everett was openly gay and this guy — more handsome than anybody, a classically trained actor — it’s tough to make the argument that he didn’t take a hit for being out."

It's only been a couple of weeks since the term "Damonsplaining" was coined to describe Matt Damon's dubious opinions about minorities in the entertainment industry, and it feels like we just found another opportunity to use that portmanteau again.

Here are seven unfortunate implications from just two brief quotes.

1. Saying "I'm gay" warrants a "TMI" response.

Is anyone really surprised that an entertainer could be gay? Is it truly off-putting? Damon is suggesting that owning one's gayness makes a gay actor unable to play "mystery." He's suggesting that gayness onscreen is best experienced as an affect, not as an actuality.

2. Straight actors have inherent legitimacy.

Everybody is assumed straight. Before an actor comes out, we assume he/she is heterosexual, especially if he/she says nothing to the contrary. You can't be passively gay because "straight" is the default. Ellen Page called it "lying by omission." When Damon claims it's better that we know nothing about actors, he forgets that in place of knowledge, we as curious people make assumptions.

3. Gay visibility doesn't lead to dialogue and positive change.

When celebrities talk about gay issues, more people talk about gay issues. When celebrities talk about any issue, more people talk about that issue. Period.

4. Straight actors can talk about anything and it's never too much.

It's wild that Matt Damon pretends straight actors suffer at all from overexposure in their private lives. As Queerty noted, he once shared his own "marriage and family secrets" and gave examples from his home life. Being a celebrity requires some candor; putting pressure on gay celebrities to shut up indicates that they're not invited to the same fame as their straight contemporaries.

5. You can make a case about gay actors based on the career of one gay actor.

Rupert Everett is one of literally a half-dozen out gay actors from the '90s whom most people could name offhand. Pinning his career downfall on being out seems a tad rich. We don't have anything close to a sample size that can confirm that. Even if Everett himself claims his gayness led to his downfall, it's possible there are many contributing factors. (And by the way: Everett is still acting on the London stage; he hasn't been forced into retirement.)

6. Rupert Everett's decline has everything to do with audiences and nothing to do with Hollywood itself.

"He took a hit" is not exactly an argument. It's like saying, "Mistakes were made." Who is responsible for his decline in popularity? Only audiences? Or could it be that Everett's own team abandoned him, and part of the reason was that he's out? As Dustin Lance Black once noted, actors often resist coming out because agents and managers tell them not to come out. Where's Damon's criticism of those people?

7. There's nothing we can do to reshape homophobic biases.

Damon implies that people begin to disbelieve an actor's versatility when he reveals he's gay. That's some soft, gentle homophobia, and it should probably be upended whenever possible. How will we know whether audiences can handle knowing about out gay actors if we don't have more of them? Before Damon jumps to conclusions, we need many more years of progress and welcomed change before we can dismiss the personal decisions of gay performers so roundly.

SOURCE

I like Matt Damon as an actor. Ever since Good Will Hunting I've liked him. I just wish he would shut up. Keep that pretty little mouth busy doing what it's meant for - sucking my cock!
 

jjjack

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Wow

I didn't realize he still looks so good. I wish he'd expand the versatility he talks about by doing some porn. Power bottom would be a great start.

Regarding assumptions, now I can't help assuming that there's something he doesn't want us to know about him.
 

topdog

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I have to say that I'm with Matty on this. I think both his statements are reasonable, in their context.

The less public personality an actor has, the more flexibility she has to disappear into a performance. Perfect example: Meryl Street. Is she divorced? Remarried? Dating? What does her husband/boyfriend do? Do you know or care? The same goes for Robert DiNero. Here's a contrast - Ben VS. Matt. Ben has his dating life splashed all over the tabloids. Matt keeps his family out of California and the spotlight. Who is considered the "serious" actor?

And poor Rupert Everett, he has for the last two decades been a case study for how being an out gay actor can derail your career. He was cast as Julia Robert's gay best friend in My Best Friend's Wedding. Then he did two Oscar Wilde films (brilliantly, I might add). But roles that went to Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Jude Law could have easily been done by him. Now, I think Rupert was the pioneer that took all the arrows to make it easier for Matt Bomer, Neil Patrick Harris, and Zachary Quinto.
 

mikey11

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I have to say that I'm with Matty on this. I think both his statements are reasonable, in their context.

The less public personality an actor has, the more flexibility she has to disappear into a performance. Perfect example: Meryl Street. Is she divorced? Remarried? Dating? What does her husband/boyfriend do? Do you know or care? The same goes for Robert DiNero. Here's a contrast - Ben VS. Matt. Ben has his dating life splashed all over the tabloids. Matt keeps his family out of California and the spotlight. Who is considered the "serious" actor?

And poor Rupert Everett, he has for the last two decades been a case study for how being an out gay actor can derail your career. He was cast as Julia Robert's gay best friend in My Best Friend's Wedding. Then he did two Oscar Wilde films (brilliantly, I might add). But roles that went to Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Jude Law could have easily been done by him. Now, I think Rupert was the pioneer that took all the arrows to make it easier for Matt Bomer, Neil Patrick Harris, and Zachary Quinto.

Your statement is a contradiction. You want gay actors to stay in the closet and in the same breath you say Rupert Everett's outing has helped many gay actors.

Also, in terms of being a "serious" actor, I think both Ben and Matt are in the same league (well, actually Ben has TWO Oscars).

I think gay celebs stepping out of the closet should be a case by case basis. Coming forward as gay is a "make or break" career move. Some celebrities survives it and some don't...to name a few: Jodi Foster, Helen Digeneres, Portia De Rossi, Rosi O'Donnell, Ellen Page, Ian Mckellen, Jim Parsons, Gillian Anderson, and so on...But I can only think of one (maybe two) celebs that suffered for being gay: Rupert Everett, Ricky Martin.
 

gb2000ie

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By MD's logic, there should not be a single story about a single Hollywood couple. As soon as there is a couple, their sexuality is known, so they are not a blank canvas!

If straight people can be openly straight, then gay people should be just the same. It harms their careers, it's not their fault, but the bigotry of Hollywood. You address that by calling it out, not by telling gays to be quiet!

Sorry, but I'm not with MD on this one.

B.
 

topdog

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Your statement is a contradiction. You want gay actors to stay in the closet and in the same breath you say Rupert Everett's outing has helped many gay actors...

It may be a contradiction, but I am looking at this in the context of the Guardian interview. He was not asked if gay actors should come out. He was asked is it harder for gay actors to be out in Hollywood than elsewhere. The point he was making is that out gay actors in the film industry have an additional burden that doesn't affect straight actors; or gay actors on Broadway, for example.

He didn't say that they shouldn't come out; he said that they often suffer from discrimination in Hollywood, using Everett 's career as an example of the narrow-mindedness of studio executives and casting directors.

Matt Damon: 'You're a better actor the less people know about you'
Elizabeth Day

the Guardian | Sunday 27 September 2015 03.00 EDT

...In 2013, he starred as Liberace’s lover, Scott Thorson, in the Steven Soderbergh television drama film Behind the Candelabra. Damon was a straight man playing gay.

Is it harder for actors to be openly gay in Hollywood?

“I’m sure. When Ben and I first came on the scene there were rumours that we were gay because it was two guys who wrote a script together.”

Really?

“I know. It’s just like any piece of gossip… and it put us in a weird position of having to answer, you know what I mean? Which was then really deeply offensive. I don’t want to, like [imply] it’s some sort of disease – then it’s like I’m throwing my friends under the bus. But at the time, I remember thinking and saying, Rupert Everett was openly gay and this guy – more handsome than anybody, a classically trained actor – it’s tough to make the argument that he didn’t take a hit for being out.”

He thinks attitudes are changing, and welcomes the introduction of same-sex marriage in California in 2008. “I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly,” he continues. “But in terms of actors, I think you’re a better actor the less people know about you period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you’re straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality because that’s one of the mysteries that you should be able to play” ...
 
S

skyward

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Matt Damon's net worth is $75 million.

Is he worth it?:p

Putting so much time and effort into obsessively hyper-analysing Hollywood is a waste of time and effort. Criticism is just another way of providing them with even more spotlight time.

Whatever these filthy-rich people are saying, the best response is just to IGNORE them as much as possible. Their maxim is 'no such thing as bad publicity'. This whole controversy is just yet another thing to be milked by Hollywood....

Hollywood producers upon hearing of the latest Matt Damon scandal say: "ooooooh 'bad-boy', 'bigot', 'confused', 'misunderstood'..... I love it! Wonderful material!"

Where ever you have placed yourself on the spectrum of loving or hating this guy you can't win! Hollywood is one giant spin-masters academy. They can spin anything in any direction they want.

You know I'm right!

Wouldn't be surprised if Damon did this on purpose, scripting out beforehand exactly what he would say. If that's the case, then it would be typical Hollywood.

Never forget the Hollywood maxim! Take everything that come's out of it with a large pinch of salt.
 

gorgik9

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It may be a contradiction, but I am looking at this in the context of the Guardian interview. He was not asked if gay actors should come out. He was asked is it harder for gay actors to be out in Hollywood than elsewhere. The point he was making is that out gay actors in the film industry have an additional burden that doesn't affect straight actors; or gay actors on Broadway, for example.

He didn't say that they shouldn't come out; he said that they often suffer from discrimination in Hollywood, using Everett 's career as an example of the narrow-mindedness of studio executives and casting directors.

Well I'm definitely with topdog & Matt Damon on this...
 

luvmuslmen

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In addressing the original statement, it might have been (and probably was) true, back in the '90's. Gay actors did get harmed by coming out then. A lot has change since then. Many actors have come out. A majority of people now support marriage equality in the U.S., even before the Supreme Court ruling. It will why increase as people see that the country hasn't fallen apart with gays marrying. I just read that in Spain, 90% of the people there support full equality for gays. They are #1 in support for LGBTQ issues. Large corporations, who shunned gay spokesmen, now support us and I am seeing more and more gay themed ads on TV, shown as matter-of-fact commercials, not presented as a political agenda, but just showing gays relationships as a normal part of everyday life. So, Matt just needs an update in his knowledge of gay issues.
 

jjjack

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Matt Damon's net worth is $75 million.

Is he worth it?:p

Celebritynetworth dot com estimates his assets at $90 million, but even that doesn't sound like much for all the movies he's done. Contrast with Leonardo DiCaprio, 4 years younger, whose estimated assets total $245 million.

The diff must be that Damon hasn't been involved with a blockbuster like Titanic (1997), which grossed over $2 billion and was the highest grossing film ever until Avatar (2010) came along. Titanic tied All About Eve (1950) for most Oscar noms (14), and Ben Hur (1959) for most Oscars (11).

James Cameron directed both, so his net worth is around $700 million. By contrast, Elizabeth Taylor's estate was worth about $600 million, according to aforementioned, admittedly unverifiable website.

In sheer monetary terms, Matt Damon's status is fair to middlin'.
 

Smokey

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Quite honestly, I understand why he is not willing to be open and honest about his sexuality and that is alright with me. I personally do think that the celebrities are forced by the media to share way too much of their personal lives with us, and there are those who buy into it which only feeds the need. But, I for one, feel that his business is just that, and with that said, so are his OPINIONS and they are just that -- OPINIONS and just as he said about gays, and too much information and truthfully what bothers me is that in these interviews he singles out only one gay actor as if there has only been one or is currently only one gay actor ever in the history of the craft. Even if there were no "OUT" gay actors or actresses, we all know that certainly some of them are gay, so where does he get off? Supposed straight actors really irritate me with their high holiness and greater-than-thou attitudes and it seems to belittle gays in a sense especially since he was not complaining feigning gay on Will & Grace but suddenly he is mad because of all the gay rumors that went on about him and Ben and made their friendship weird and awkward?
 
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