Hollywood actor Matt Damon appeared
Tuesday on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show, where he denied saying
that gay actors should “get back in the closet.”
DeGeneres asked Damon to clarify
comments he made over the weekend.
Damon told the Guardian that it
was “tough to make the argument that [openly gay actor Rupert
Everett] didn't take a hit for being out.”
“I think it must be really hard for
actors to be out publicly,” Damon added. “But in terms of
actors, I think you're a better actor the less people know about you,
period. And sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether you're
straight or gay, people shouldn't know anything about your sexuality
because that's one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”
“I was just trying to say actors are
more effective when they're a mystery,” Damon told DeGeneres. “And
somebody picked it up and said I'd said gay actors should get back in
the closet.”
Kevin Fallon at The
Daily Beast was among Damon's critics. He called Damon a
“hypocrite” for casually discussing his life with wife Luciana
Barroso and their four children in the same interview.