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It's been 13 years since Hilary Duff's iconic ad for GLSEN where she lightly admonished two women who were using the word "gay" as a term of ridicule.
But actor Matt Damon must have missed that ad--and then some.
Damon went public with a statement about his learning process as it pertains to the gay community that raised more than a few eyebrows.
In it, Damon revealed he didn't realize it was not okay to use the widely recognized homophobic slur f****t until a "treatise" from his daughter.
Matt Damon\u2019s daughter:pic.twitter.com/ddxZ9SS8Xg— Daniel D'Addario (@Daniel D'Addario) 1627849644
i hope matt damon's daughter is having a good daypic.twitter.com/we48diz9M7— olivia (@olivia) 1627856506
I want to know what word Matt Damon has replaced f****t with.— billy eichner (@billy eichner) 1627851159
My favorite thing about this Matt Damon thing is he told on himself. This didn\u2019t leak, he literally told us.— Michael Benjamin (@Michael Benjamin) 1627866241
Matt Damon talking about gay people before his daughter yelled at himpic.twitter.com/nnhsSvsH45— Will Kellogg (@Will Kellogg) 1627849145
In his interview for the UK publication The Sunday Times, Damon decided to open with the anecdote wherein he, wide-eyed and innocent, had no idea society had moved past using the "f-slur for homosexual," as Damon called it.
"I made a joke, months ago, and got a treatise from my daughter," he said.
"She left the table. I said, 'Come on, that's a joke! I say it in the movie Stuck on You!' She went to her room and wrote a very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous. I said, 'I retire the f-slur!' I understood."
Everybody: \nThe national news media: \nThe trades: \nTMZ: \nMatt Damon: Y\u2019know I said f*gg*t until like last Tuesday?— Chase Mitchell (@Chase Mitchell) 1627866067
the funniest part of the matt damon interview is when he says that \u201cf*ggot\u201d meant something different when he was a kid bc bro no it didn\u2019tpic.twitter.com/6tMEKVTssN— matt (@matt) 1627861038
matt damon when he speaks to his daughter nowpic.twitter.com/JJtVwhJydy— \u2728 Mikey Almeida \u2728 (@\u2728 Mikey Almeida \u2728) 1627854947
Matt Damon after 8 minutes of not saying the F-Slur in front of his daughter:pic.twitter.com/H7BuylS5g5— In My Mind (@In My Mind) 1627850658
The fact that Matt Damon\u2019s daughter had to explain to him that saying a slur is wrong is insanepic.twitter.com/KeOIlxRZP8— Cedrica (@Cedrica) 1627843101
Damon, 50, has a Harvard University education.
He has played prominent LGBTQ+ characters Including Scott Thorson, the former partner of artist Liberace, in the film Behind The Candelabra.
The news comes on the heels of rapper DaBaby's career-harming anti-gay tirade which resulted in the rapper being removed from the lineup of Lollapalooza.
I\u2019ve lost some respect for Matt Damon for two reasons:\n\n1. Being a 51-year-old Harvard-educated person who only realized using homophobic slurs was a bad thing *months* ago; and\n\n2. Being foolish enough to think that was a cute story he should share with the world.pic.twitter.com/WtudX2fGtb— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@Mrs. Betty Bowers) 1627850364
Wheel of Fortune: British slang for 'cigarette' \n\nMatt Damon:pic.twitter.com/iK9D5OoxJc— Brent in Lexington 8.19-21 (@Brent in Lexington 8.19-21) 1627861391
holy god Matt Damon is dumb— Molly Lambert \ud83e\udd94 (@Molly Lambert \ud83e\udd94) 1627856123
Just outstanding that Matt Damon told his "I learned not to use a homophobic slur at 50" like it was a heartwarming anecdote of lifelong learning. Like your nan enrolling in a watercolour class at the local college, but for not saying the n-word.— James Felton (@James Felton) 1627896672
Regarding Matt Damon, why do white people volunteer so much information that no one asked for?— Imani Barbarin, MAGC | Crutches&Spice \u267f\ufe0f (@Imani Barbarin, MAGC | Crutches&Spice \u267f\ufe0f) 1627868922
Damon's approach to the story, as if he should be rewarded for learning something simple most people learned decades ago, has upset many people across the internet.
2021 has been waiting for Damon. Hopefully he will begin living in it.