Matt Damon denies that he uses 'slurs of any kind'
"I understand why my statement led many to assume the worst."
Following a headline-making interview with U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times, Matt Damon has issued a statement denying he ever used a gay slur.
In the article, Damon explained that he quoted a line from his film "Stuck on You," which used the word "f---" as "a joke."
What resulted, Damon said, was a "long, beautiful treatise" from his daughter explaining how the word was hurtful.
In a statement to Variety, the Oscar winner explained, "During a recent interview, I recalled a discussion I had with my daughter where I attempted to contextualize for her the progress that has been made -- though by no means completed -- since I was growing up in Boston and, as a child, heard the word 'f---' used on the street before I knew what it even referred to."
He continued, "I explained that that word was used constantly and casually and was even a line of dialogue in a movie of mine as recently as 2003."
Damon said that his daughter "in turn expressed incredulity that there could ever have been a time where that word was used unthinkingly."He added, "To my admiration and pride, she was extremely articulate about the extent to which that word would have been painful to someone in the LGBTQ+ community."
To Variety, Damon clarified, "I not only agreed with her but thrilled at her passion, values and desire for social justice."
The "Stillwater" star then insisted: "I have never called anyone 'f------' in my personal life and this conversation with my daughter was not a personal awakening. I do not use slurs of any kind."
He ended his statement to the outlet by expressing that he stands with the LGBTQ community.
"I have learned that eradicating prejudice requires active movement toward justice rather than finding passive comfort in imagining myself ‘one of the good guys,'" his statement read. "And given that open hostility against the LGBTQ+ community is still not uncommon, I understand why my statement led many to assume the worst. To be as clear as I can be, I stand with the LGBTQ+ community."
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