Matt Damon’s Comments On Sexual Harassment Spark “Ocean’s 8” Petition

Petition asks producers to yank Damon’s cameo appearance in “Ocean 8”

Mega-watt celebrity Matt Damon (47) is drawing major fire from people who are angered over his controversial comments about sexual harassment in Hollywood.

There are currently over 17,000 signatures on the website Care 2 that calls for the actor’s cameo appearance to be removed from upcoming, Oceans 8.

The movie is an all-female reboot of the Oceans franchise that is set for release on February 20, 2018, according to IMDb.

Care 2 asserts that Damon’s recent comments stating that he would consider working with people accused of sexual misconduct on a “case by case” basis – plus rumors that Damon secretly enabled Harvey Weinstein’s improper behavior, is cause for him to be yanked from the film.

Specifically, the petition asks that George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh (Ocean 8’s producers) to “toss Damon’s Oceans 8 cameo where it belongs: on the cutting room floor.”

“Damon’s inclusion would trivialize the serious nature of the charges against sexual abusers like Weinstein—a show [of] massive disrespect for the brave women speaking out,” the petition states. “It would also send a terrible message about the inevitability of—and lack of accountability for—sexual harassment in the workplace that four in ten American women experience.”

Additionally, the petition states:

“Damon’s inclusion would trivialize the serious nature of the charges against sexual abusers like Weinstein—a show [of] massive disrespect for the brave women speaking out,” reads the petition. “It would also send a terrible message about the inevitability of—and lack of accountability for—sexual harassment in the workplace that four in ten American women experience.”

Much of the controversy started when Damon made headlines in an ABC News interview where he argued: “there’s a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?” He went on to suggest “we can work with” people like Al Franken and Louis C.K., who have been previously accused of sexual harassment.

Several days ago, Damon shared in an interview with Business Insider the following when asked if he would still work with someone accused of misconduct.

“That always went into my thinking,” Damon said. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to work with somebody who — life’s too short for that. But the question of if somebody had allegations against them, you know, it would be a case-by-case basis. You go, ‘What’s the story here?'”

Care 2, a Silicon Valley social networking community, hosts a variety of petitions related to social causes. Many are using the petition as a tool to share their displeasure with the popular actor’s comments about allegations of sexual harassment in Hollywood.

Damon currently stars in the satirical film, Downsizing. It is set for release in theaters on December 22, 2017.

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