Actor Matt Damon says movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and outgoing Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) don’t belong in the same category despite sexual misconduct allegations against both of them.
“When you see Al Franken taking a picture putting his hands on that woman’s flak jacket and mugging for the camera, going like that, you know, that is just like a terrible joke, and it’s not funny. It’s wrong, and he shouldn’t have done that,” Damon said in an interview on “Popcorn with Peter Travers.”
“But when you talk about Harvey and what he’s accused of, there are no pictures of that. He knew he was up to no good. There’s no witnesses. There’s no pictures. There’s no braggadocio. … So they don’t belong in the same category,” he continued
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Damon’s comments come as women from Hollywood to Capitol Hill have come forward to accuse prominent men of sexual misconduct.
He faced sharp backlash for the remarks on social media, including from his “Good Will Hunting” costar Minnie Driver, who retweeted the Vulture report with the caption: “Good God. Seriously?”
“There are so many men I love who do NOT frame the differentiation between sexual misconduct assault and rape as an excuse or worse- our problem,” she added in a second tweet. “Such bollocks..”
Franken announced his resignation on the Senate floor earlier this month after eight women accused the comedian-turned-politician of sexual misconduct.
Leeann Tweeden was the first to accuse Franken of misconduct and released a photo of Franken appearing to put his hands on her chest while she was asleep.
A number of actresses, including Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, came forward to accuse Weinstein of harassment and assault.
Weinstein was fired from his own production company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Salma Hayek is the latest actress to accuse Weinstein, writing in a New York Times op-ed on Wednesday that Weinstein was her “monster.”
“I hope that adding my voice to the chorus of those who are finally speaking out will shed light on why it is so difficult, and why so many of us have waited so long,” Hayek said.
“Men sexually harassed because they could. Women are talking today because, in this new era, we finally can,” she wrote.
—Updated at 5:05 p.m.