No, Matt Damon Didn’t Tell Gay Actors to Stay Closeted

Actor Matt Damon is no stranger to controversy these days. However, the news that the star of The Martian suggested that LGBT actors should “stay in the closet to further their careers” is utterly false. Not once did he ever say or imply as much in his recent interview with The Guardian.

Raw Story reported on Monday morning that Damon, who’s busily promoting his new film, The Martian, made comments to this effect while discussing his being a straight male actor playing a gay man in 2013 television movie, Behind the Candelabra.

The headline reads “Matt Damon urges gay actors to stay in the closet to further their careers,” but provides no quoted words or phrases to suggest that any of these words actually came out of Damon’s mouth. The lede opines that Damon’s supposedly paraphrased comments may have “ruffled some feathers,” but nowhere in the post are any quotes given from persons with said ruffled feathers.

So what did Damon actually say, then?

After discussing Damon’s being a straight actor playing a gay character, the interviewer asked whether or not he thought it was difficult for LGBT actors to be out in Hollywood.

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

He tells the personal anecdote as a means of relating to the question since Damon is not gay, then proceeds to reiterate his previous affirmation. Though he does suggest that it’s getting easier for LGBT performers to be comfortably out these days.

Then comes the paragraph, one of the last in the interview, that Raw Story latched onto:

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.”

There are two important things to take away from what Damon says here. First, that the wording given in Raw Story’s headline never appears here. What the actor actually says is, “[In] terms of actors, I think you’re a better actor the less people know about you period.” This is the basis for Damon’s comment, which has less to do with whether or not one is homosexual, and more to do with whether or not one is an actor.

As for the second point, Damon isn’t implying that LGBT actors should remain closeted in order to “further their careers.” Hell, he’s not even telling them to stay in the closet. He’s actually promoting the idea that actors — regardless of their sexuality, gender and race — should emphasize their work more than their personal lives in the context of acting.

Is this a difficult thing to do? Hell yes it is, especially with media outlets of every shape and size (Mediaite included) reporting on nearly every aspect of celebrities’ lives, both in and out of the public spotlight. Yet this doesn’t preclude serious actors from trying to avoid said spotlight in order to focus on their work.

[h/t Raw Story, The Guardian]
[Image via screengrab]

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This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.