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Matt Damon believes he is an expert on diversity. The Cambridge, Massachusetts raised actor recently showed the arrogance that often exists in the minds of many white males in Hollywood.
During a taping of the HBO series “Project Greenlight,” Damon, Ben Affleck, the Farrelly brothers and Effie Brown (Black female producer of Dear White People) were judging aspiring directors who were looking for an opportunity to direct their first film.
Brown was looking to pick an Asian man and white woman to direct the script in the hopes of adding diversity to the project. While speaking to the hopeful directors, Brown urged the award winning directors to think about how they would treat the only Black character in the script. The character was a female prostitute who gets slapped by her white pimp.
Damon spoke over Brown and said, “When we’re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not the casting of the show.” Shocked by Damon’s ignorant response, Brown could only say, “Wow.”
Damon probably wouldn’t consider himself to be a racist, but his way of thinking is why Hollywood is one of the least diverse industries in America. White men often believe that they can respond to the problems of diversity without hearing an opposing view. Damon disregarded Brown’s statement because his arrogance wouldn’t allow him to hear the truth.
