Matt Damon: Racism in America ‘So Much Worse’ Than I
Thought
by Daniel Nussbaum 1 Sep 2017
Actor Matt Damon sounded off on President Donald
Trump and the state of racism in America in an extensive interview this week,
explaining that he found the president’s response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia this month “absolutely abhorrent” and that he
underestimated the extent of the racist attitudes in the country at large.
In a wide-ranging interview
with the Hollywood
Reporter, the 46-year-old actor said his upcoming film Suburbicon
— a 1950s-set thriller about a family man in the suburbs driven to the brink by
his town’s “underbelly” of violence and deceit — has taken on new significance
following the events in Charlottesville, in which one woman was killed and more
than a dozen injured when white nationalist protesters faced off with so-called
“Antifa” counter-protesters.
“We made the movie last year and it’s incredible to see
what’s happened in Charlottesville. It’s horrible,” Damon told THR. “A
lot of people, myself included, are really waking up to the extent of the
existing racism, and it’s so much worse than I naively thought. I just feel
naïve at this point.”
Actor Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso pose for
photographers at the premiere of the film ‘Downsizing’ which opens the 74th
edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017.
(Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Damon added that he was shocked to see footage of the
white nationalist protesters hoisting Tiki torches and shouting anti-Semitic
slogans during the Charlottesville protests, explaining that he believed the
next generation of Americans would be more inclusive and open.
“Then the night that the President [made his] ‘many
sides’ comment was absolutely abhorrent,” he said. “Sadly, I feel the movie was
made at the right time.”
Damon — who has long been a critic of Trump — also told THR
that he is “very concerned with the state of things” in the country, and with
the “damage that’s being done to our institutions.”
“Robert Mueller is
kind of representing these institutions at this point, and just by some trick
of history he’s the one who’s essentially defending them against these attacks,
so hopefully his investigation is going smoothly,” Damon told the outlet. “He
can’t wrap things up soon enough, as far as I’m concerned.”
US actor Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Damon arrive
for the opening ceremony of the 74th Venice Film Festival and the premiere of
the movie “Downsizing”, on August 30, 2017 at Venice Lido. / AFP PHOTO /
Filippo MONTEFORTE
Still, Damon admitted to THR that his work as an
actor, and his residence in California, have “isolated” him from much of the
country.
“I’m kind of walled off, like a lot of actors,” he said.
“But in California,
New York,
the Northeast, it feels you’re surrounded by like-minded people, and then there
are other parts of the country where you’d be hard-pressed to find people who believe
what you believe.”
Damon has previously been outspoken about his disdain for
Trump. In July of last year, the Oscar-winner told the
Associated Press that he was “frightened” at the prospect of a Trump
presidency, and was “genuinely concerned about his temperament.”
The actor has also expressed skepticism about some of
Trump’s major campaign promises, including the president’s vow to build a
security wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
“We’ve got to watch, but hopefully the people of Mexico understand
that the people of our country, the majority of them don’t believe that we
should be putting any walls up,” Damon told People magazine in February.
Elsewhere in his THR interview, Damon explains
what it was like to meet pal George Clooney for
the first time, and what Coen Brothers fans can expect from Suburbicon.
Read the full interview here.
Let’s connect the dots:
Hollywood Reporter
Eric
Mika is the SVP for the Hollywood
Reporter, and a director at the Creative
Coalition.
Note: Christopher
P. Albrecht was a director at the Creative
Coalition, and a donor for the 2012
George Clooney fundraiser for Obama.
Matthew C. Blank
is a director at the Creative Coalition,
and a trustee at the Harlem Children's
Zone.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem Children's Zone, and the International Rescue Committee.
George
Soros was the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, and is a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone, an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, a donor for the Robin Hood
Foundation, and is Emma Bloomberg’s
father.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
H2O Africa
Foundation is a partner with the ONE
Campaign.
Matt
Damon is a co-founder for the H2O
Africa Foundation, a friend of Ben
Affleck, was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, and the Sexiest Man Alive 2007 for People.
Michelle Obama
was an advocate for the ONE Campaign,
and Harvey Weinstein arranged for
her to announce best picture at 2012 Oscars.
Harvey Weinstein
arranged for Michelle Obama to
announce best picture at 2012 Oscars, and is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation.
John F. Kennedy
Jr. was a director at the Robin Hood
Foundation, Sexiest Man Alive 1988 for People.
Emma Bloomberg
is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation,
Michael R. Bloomberg’s daughter, and
was the chief of staff for the Robin
Hood Foundation.
Robin Hood
Foundation was a funder for the Harlem
Children's Zone, and the Harlem Village
Academies.
Matthew C. Blank
is a trustee at the Harlem Children's
Zone, and a director at the Creative
Coalition.
Eric
Mika is a director at the Creative
Coalition, and the SVP for the Hollywood
Reporter.
Hugh Jackman is a
director at the Harlem Village Academies,
and the Sexiest Man Alive 2008 for People.
Ben
Affleck was the Sexiest Man Alive 2002 for People, and is a friend of Matt
Damon.
Matt
Damon is a friend of Ben Affleck,
a co-founder for the H2O Africa
Foundation, was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, and the Sexiest Man Alive 2007 for People.
H2O Africa
Foundation is a partner with the ONE
Campaign.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue
Committee.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone, a donor for the Robin
Hood Foundation, and is Emma
Bloomberg’s father.
Matthew C. Blank
is a trustee at the Harlem Children's
Zone, and a director at the Creative
Coalition.
Christopher
P. Albrecht was a director at the Creative
Coalition, and a donor for the 2012
George Clooney fundraiser for Obama.
Eric
Mika is a director at the Creative
Coalition, and the SVP for the Hollywood
Reporter.
Robin Hood
Foundation raised money for Hurricane
Sandy relief.
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is a relief organization for Hurricane Sandy.
Mary Pat
Christie is the chair for the Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, and is married to Christopher J. Christie.
Christopher
J. Christie is married to Mary Pat
Christie, and was the
U.S. attorney,
District of New Jersey for the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Robert S.
Mueller III is a special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, and was a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Michael Signer
was an attorney at Wilmer Cutler
Pickering Hale and Dorr, a director at the Truman Center for National Policy, and is the Charlottesville (VA) mayor.
Leslie H. Gelb is
an advisory board member for the Truman
Center for National Policy, and was a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Ernesto Zedillo
was a board member for the International
Crisis Group, and the president for Mexico.
Kamala D. Harris
is an advisory board member for the Truman
Center for National Policy, and a California
congressional delegation member.
Rockefeller
Foundation was a funder for the Truman
Center for National Policy, and the National
Council of La Raza.
Gabrielle
Giffords is an advisory board member for the Truman
Center for National Policy, and a co-founder for the Americans for Responsible Solutions.
Americans
for Responsible Solutions is a “Gun
Safety, Gun Control” PAC for guns.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was a contributor for the Americans
for Responsible Solutions, a New
York (NY) mayor, an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, a benefactor for the Harlem
Children's Zone, a donor for the Robin
Hood Foundation, and is Emma
Bloomberg’s father.
Matthew C. Blank
is a trustee at the Harlem Children's
Zone, and a director at the Creative
Coalition.
Eric
Mika is a director at the Creative
Coalition, and the SVP for the Hollywood
Reporter.
Christopher
P. Albrecht was a director at the Creative
Coalition, and a donor for the 2012
George Clooney fundraiser for Obama.
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