Alyssa Milano and Minnie Driver dragged Matt Damon for his sexual misconduct comments
2017 is the year of many things, including admonishing famous men who just can’t keep their mouths shut. And right now, the spotlight is on Matt Damon. After the actor shared his horribly misguided thoughts about sexual misconduct, Minnie Driver and Alyssa Milano slammed him for his words.
“I do believe that there’s a spectrum of behavior,” Damon said in a recent interview with ABC News. “And we’re going to have to figure — you know, there’s a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right? Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?”
Matt Damon has many opinions about sexual misconduct and the #MeToo movement. In recent months, the actor has done ~a lot~. First, he claimed that he didn’t know anything about Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual misconduct. But then, Damon revealed that he and Ben Affleck knew that Weinstein sexually harassed Gwyneth Paltrow.
Damon still can’t seem to keep quiet, though his opinions are certainly not helping anyone. When his words about the supposed “spectrum of behavior” fell completely short, some powerful ladies stepped in to educate him. And we applaud them.
Alyssa Milano had a lot to say.
Dear Matt Damon,
It’s the micro that makes the macro.
(Thread)— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
The actress shared a powerful thread on Twitter.
We are in a “culture of outrage” because the magnitude of rage is, in fact, overtly outrageous. And it is righteous.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
She had some things to say about the “spectrum of behavior” Damon spoke of.
I have been a victim of each component of the sexual assault spectrum of which you speak. They all hurt. And they are all connected to a patriarchy intertwined with normalized, accepted--even welcomed-- misogyny.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
And she put to words to what so many of us want to express.
We are not outraged because someone grabbed our asses in a picture. We are outraged because we were made to feel this was normal. We are outraged because we have been gaslighted. We are outraged because we were silenced for so long.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
She used a metaphor too.
There are different stages of cancer. Some more treatable than others. But it’s still cancer.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
In the end, Milano called sexual misconduct a “systemic disease.”
Sexual harassment, misconduct, assault and violence is a systemic disease. The tumor is being cut out right now with no anesthesia. Please send flowers. #MeToo
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
Minnie Driver, who starred alongside and even previously dated Damon, stepped in as well.
God God, SERIOUSLY? https://t.co/NDZFrLDXil
— Minnie Driver (@driverminnie) December 15, 2017
She explained her thoughts, partially through responses to users on Twitter.
No. You don’t get to be hierarchical with abuse. And you don’t get to tell women that because some guy only showed them their penis their pain isnt as great as a woman who was raped.
— Minnie Driver (@driverminnie) December 16, 2017
For survivors, being inundated with constant conversation around sexual trauma can be taxing.
It can be hard when someone — especially a male in a position of power, like Matt Damon — doesn’t understand. In the end, nothing reverses the experience of these women and men. Survivors’ experiences ARE valid, and having women like Milano and Driver speak up is everything.
We have to stick together and keep fighting.
And as for Damon and men like him, famous or not, they have to stop talking. They have to start listening. It’s the only way.
