In defence of Matt Damon

Movie star Matt Damon has tentatively, politely suggested that the #MeToo cleansing of Hollywood, this chasing of suspected perverts out of the film world, has hints of a ‘culture of outrage’ to it, and guess what has happened to him? Yep, he’s been consumed by the culture of outrage. He’s been insulted, demonised, Twitter-raged against. ‘Is Matt Damon OK?’, asked one newspaper headline, because if you express an outre opinion these days, people will worry that you’re ill. It feels like a grimly fitting end to 2017: someone raises concerns about outrage, and before he’s even finished explaining himself he’s shut down by outrage.

I’ve read Damon’s comments, which he made in a couple of interviews, five times now, and I cannot see a single controversial thing in them. He isn’t rude, he doesn’t demean #MeToo. On the contrary, he praises it. ‘It’s wonderful that women are feeling empowered to tell their stories, and it’s totally necessary’, he says.