Matt Damon Thinks Gay Actors Should Stay in the Closet

But it kind of sounds like Matt is implying that all gay actors would be better off staying in the closet for the sake of their careers!

Leading Hollywood actor Matt Damon believes it’s probably even more hard to make it in the movie business if you’re openly gay. Damon’s advice doesn’t apply equally to straight cisgender actors, after all – a leading man like Damon who casually mentions his wife and four kids in an interview will never face the same career repercussions as a rival who introduces his husband on the red carpet.

The hashtag #Damonsplaining soon began trending on social media, with many users criticizing the white actor for trying to explain to a black director the best way to handle diversity. “But at the time, I remember thinking and saying, Rupert Everett was openly gay and this guy – more handsome than anybody, a classically trained actor – it’s tough to make the argument that he didn’t take a hit for being out”, Damon said.

“I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly”, Matt continued. And sexuality is a huge part of that.

While discussing his role playing Liberace’s lover, Scott Thorson, in the HBO film “Behind the Candelabra“, Damon spoke about being straight and playing gay, before reflecting on the impact of an actor’s sexuality can have when it comes to getting roles. That is an ongoing conversation that we all should be having’. Unfortunately, we’re still having a lot of trouble redefining (or abandoning) terms like “average” and “normal”. That’s not any fault of theirs – and that’s the point Damon appears to be missing here. 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.

There are two important things to take away from what Damon says here. You need to shut up cause we’re starting to really wish you were stuck on Mars (but hey, at least you’ll have water now).

He thinks attitudes are changing, and welcomes the introduction of same-sex marriage in California in 2008.

Apparently, though, there’s still a long way to go.