Matt Damon’s planned cameo in ‘Ocean’s 8’ was belatedly canned by the makers of the movie.
The 47-year-old actor previously starred in the male-dominated trilogy and he’d been invited to make a brief cameo in the new, Gary Ross-directed film – but Matt’s efforts ultimately did not make the final cut.
No official explanation for the omission has yet been given, but it could be linked to his controversial remarks about the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women who have experienced abuse and harassment to tell their story.
As many as 28,000 people signed a petition earlier this year calling for Matt to be taken out of the movie in light of his comments.
The controversy centred on Matt saying: “We’re in this watershed moment, and it’s great.
“But I think one thing that’s not being talked about is there are a whole s***load of guys – the preponderance of men I’ve worked with – who don’t do this kind of thing and whose lives aren’t going to be affected.”
The Hollywood star subsequently offered an apology, but many fans of the franchise reasoned it would inappropriate to have Matt appear in a female-led film.
Matt also attracted criticism from his ‘Good Will Hunting’ co-star Minnie Driver.
She tweeted at the time: “Gosh it’s so interesting (profoundly unsurprising) how men with all these opinions about women’s differentiation between sexual misconduct, assault and rape reveal themselves to be utterly tone deaf and as a result, systemically part of the problem. (sic)”
