--- title: Matt Damon Addresses Controversial Sexual Assault Comments description: Actor Matt Damon, who was criticized last month for his comments on the #MeToo movement, said he plans to keep quiet "for a while." canonical: https://time.com/5104248/matt-damon-me-too/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-16T16:50:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:46:09.961Z og:title: Matt Damon Apologizes For His Comments on Sexual Assault og:description: The actor was criticized last month for his comments on the #MeToo movement og:url: https://time.com/5104248/matt-damon-me-too/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a17dbdcbbbd1c97/6988f8504ee26257a4310800/matt-damon-me-too-comment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: "Downsizing" New York Screening og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Matt Damon Apologizes For His Comments on Sexual Assault twitter:description: The actor was criticized last month for his comments on the #MeToo movement twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a17dbdcbbbd1c97/6988f8504ee26257a4310800/matt-damon-me-too-comment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Really Wish I'd Listened.' Matt Damon Apologizes for Comments on Sexual Assault > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7f3d671d-bf4d-49bb-a0fd-61a0461d32ea&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Matt Damon Apologizes For Comments on Sexual Assault [Watch (HLS stream): Matt Damon Apologizes For Comments on Sexual Assault](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bstahUBA.m3u8) (1:02)  _Published 2018-01-17. After drawing criticism for his comments on sexual assault in December, actor Matt Damon weighed in again on the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements_ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jan 16, 2018 4:50 PM UTC After drawing criticism for his comments on sexual assault in December, actor Matt Damon weighed in again on the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jan 16, 2018 4:50 PM UTC After drawing criticism for his [comments on sexual assault](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/17/arts/matt-damon-metoo-movement.html) in December, actor Matt Damon weighed in again on the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements that aim to combat sexual harassment and assault in workplaces across several industries, and apologized for potentially causing people pain. “I really wish I’d listened a lot more before I weighed in on this,” Damon said on the _Today Show_ on Tuesday. “I don’t want to further anybody’s pain with anything that I do or say. So for that I’m really sorry.” > [](https://twitter.com/klgandhoda/status/953291514125406211) Damon spoke on the topic of sexual assault last month in an [interview with ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/matt-damon-opens-harvey-weinstein-sexual-harassment-confidentiality/story?id=51792548), where he discussed the numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Harvey Weinstein and said that he felt men shouldn’t be grouped together for their bad behavior instead of being judged on a “spectrum.” “You know, there’s a difference between, you now, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?” he said. “Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?” Multiple people criticized Damon’s comments online. Actor Minnie Driver, who starred with Damon in _Good Will Hunting_ and once dated him, responded: > [](https://twitter.com/driverminnie/status/941733516999405568) In an interview with the _Guardian_, Driver said in [reference to Damon’s comments](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/16/minnie-driver-matt-damon-men-cannot-understand-abuse) that men “simply cannot understand what abuse is like on a daily level.” Actor Alyssa Milano, who called on women to share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault through the #MeToo movement created by [Tarana Burke](http://time.com/5070579/metoo-tarana-burke-new-years-eve-ball-drop-times-square/), said she has “been a victim of each component of the sexual assault spectrum” that Damon mentioned. “They all hurt,” Milano said. “And they are all connected to a patriarchy intertwined with normalized, accepted–even welcomed–misogyny.” > [](https://twitter.com/Alyssa%5FMilano/status/941840946420789250) Speaking on the _Today Show_, Damon expressed his support for the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements but said that he’ll be keeping quiet for some time. “A lot of those women are my dear friends, I love them and respect them and support what they’re doing, and want to be part of that change, and want to go along for the ride,” he said. “But I should get in the back seat and close my mouth for a while.” ## Transcript Well looking back, I just wish that I had listened before I weighed in on this, or I wouldn't have said what I said. And yeah, I mean I think ultimately what it comes down to for me is, I just don't want to To further anybody's pain with what I do or say, period. And so for that I'm sorry. And I've just been listening to the response and a lot of it's been really helpful for me. So I'm gonna continue to do that. And I mean I'm very much, the whole time's up movement is great and a lot of those women are my dear friends. And I support what they're doing and want to be a part of this change cuz it's necessary and it's important. But you know I was saying earlier, I wanna go for the ride but I'll be in the backseat and listen. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5104248/matt-damon-me-too/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5104248/matt-damon-me-too/"},"headline":"'I Really Wish I'd Listened.' 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