Matt spoke honestly about his friendship with Ben during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The Bourne Identity star complained how for years, Ben was “misunderstood” by everyone. He seemed to blame Ben’s bad reputation on his romance with J.Lo!
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“Ten years ago, the public image of him could not have been farther apart from who he actually is,” Matt said. “It was like he was being cast in a role, that he was a talentless kind of meathead, with his whole relationship with Jennifer Lopez. He just got cast as this person that he wasn’t. It was just really painful. It was painful to be his friend, because it wasn’t fair, you know?”
Uh, okay? It sounds like Matt said Ben’s “whole relationship” with Jennifer was behind everyone thinking he was a “talentless” in the early 2000s. Of course, it could have really been that Ben starred in movies like Jersey Girl, Daredevil, and the 2003 remake of Gigli — a film considered to be one of the most expensive box office bombs in history!
Also, technically, Ben and Jen dated for just 18 months before they split at the start of 2004. Ben’s reputation likely came before he got involved with Jenny from the Block. Yes, Matt was right when he said that Ben “climbed from the bottom of the mountain, all the way back up to the top,” with films like Argo and Gone Girl. But, blaming Ben’s early poor reputation on J-Lo? Shady!
Matt Damon Clarifies Controversial Comments On Gay Actors On ‘Ellen’ — Watch
Perhaps Matt should give a career in silent movies a try? He got into hot water after saying that it’s not important to have women or people of color as film directors. He also said seemed to imply that gay actors should stay in the closet by saying “people shouldn’t know anything about [actors’] sexuality.” Matt had to go on The Ellen DeGeneres show to explain his controversial remarks and how they were taken out of context.
What do you think about Matt’s remarks over Ben and Jennifer’s relationship, HollywoodLifers? Will you skip seeing The Martian over it?
— Jason Brow