During a promotional interview for Netflix's 'The Rip,' Matt Damon told Joe Rogan that being canceled in Hollywood is worse than serving 18 months in jail. He reflected on the lasting impact of public backlash, drawing from his own experience with controversy in 2021. The discussion highlighted the perpetual nature of online outrage.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck appeared on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' to promote their new Netflix film 'The Rip,' a thriller directed by Joe Carnahan and based on true events involving a Miami tactical narcotics squad. The conversation turned to cancel culture, with Rogan describing it as 'this idea that one thing you said or one thing you did, and now we’re going to exaggerate that to the fullest extent and cast you out of civilization for life.'
Damon agreed, emphasizing its enduring consequences: 'In perpetuity... Because I bet some of those people would have preferred to go to jail for 18 months or whatever, and then come out and say, “I paid my debt. Like, we’re done. Like, can we be done?” The thing about that getting kind of excoriated, publicly like that, it just never ends. And it’s the first thing that… you know, it just will follow you to the grave.'
Damon's comments stem from his own brush with backlash in 2021. In an interview with The Sunday Times, he mentioned stopping use of the F-slur 'months ago' after his daughter wrote a 'treatise' on its dangers. This drew criticism, prompting Damon to issue a statement to Variety clarifying: 'I have never called anyone “f****t” in my personal life and this conversation with my daughter was not a personal awakening. I do not use slurs of any kind.' He explained the discussion with his daughter about the word's historical use in Boston and its harm to the LGBTQ+ community, adding, 'I stand with the LGBTQ+ community.'
Despite the uproar, Damon's career thrived, with roles in 'Air' and 'Oppenheimer,' and an upcoming lead in Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey.' 'The Rip' draws from a real incident led by officer Chris Casiano, where his team discovered $24 million hidden in a Miami stash house. They noticed surveillance cameras and relied on a cash-sniffing dog that alerted them to the massive sum from outside. Damon and Affleck prepared by riding along with actual Miami police, while cast member Catalina Sandino Moreno consulted a real participant. The film, starring Damon, Affleck, Steven Yeun, and Teyana Taylor, is now streaming on Netflix.
