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Matt Damon has learned so much from his daughters.
The 55-year-old actor has been promoting his upcoming film The Odyssey, in which he has a major role as Odysseus, King of Ithaca. The Christopher Nolan film based on Homer's epic poem opens in theaters on July 23.
Recently at the London premiere of The Odyssey, he was joined by his wife, Luciana Barroso Damon, and their four daughters. Luciana and Matt share Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 15. On the red carpet, Matt shared how emotional he was that he got to share this moment with his family.
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"They're all having fun while I'm working, but I’m so happy they’re here," he told Entertainment Tonight. "Everybody’s so grown-up. Like, I got a real dad teary moment seeing them today."
He has also expressed how blessed he feels to be a girl dad, calling it a "real gift" in an interview with PEOPLE.
Back in 2021, the Good Will Hunting star did an interview with The Sunday Times and shared how his daughter taught him not to use the f-slur that is used against queer people. Matt didn't specify which of his daughters it was.
The f-slur is a derogatory term primarily used to target gay men, but other members of the LGBTQ+ community have had that word used against them as well.
"The word that my daughter calls the 'f-slur for a homosexual' was commonly used when I was a kid, with a different application," He told the outlet.
"I made a joke, months ago, and got a treatise from my daughter. She left the table. I said, 'Come on, that's a joke! I say it in the movie Stuck on You!' She went to her room and wrote a very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous. I said, 'I retire the f-slur!' I understood," Matt added.
The outlet had prefaced that Matt's anecdote came from a conversation about "changes in modern masculinity."
At the time, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer faced backlash for that admission. There were criticisms about Matt learning this lesson a little too late.
Matt addressed the criticism and clarified his previous remarks in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
"During a recent interview, I recalled a discussion I had with my daughter where I attempted to contextualize for her the progress that has been made – though by no means completed – since I was growing up in Boston and, as a child, heard the word 'f-g' used on the street before I knew what it even referred to," Matt began.
He added that he explained to her how the slur was "used constantly and casually and was even a line of dialogue in a movie of mine as recently as 2003" and that his daughter was incredulous "that there could ever have been a time where that word was used unthinkingly."
Matt went on to say that "to my admiration and pride, she was extremely articulate about the extent to which that word would have been painful to someone in the LGBTQ+ community regardless of how culturally normalized it was."
Matt added that he agreed with his daughter but was also "thrilled at her passion, values, and desire for social justice."
Matt stressed that he has never called anyone the f-slur in his “personal life" and that the conversation with his daughter was not a "personal awakening."
"I do not use slurs of any kind. I have learned that eradicating prejudice requires active movement toward justice rather than finding passive comfort in imagining myself 'one of the good guys,'" Matt continued.
He noted that he understands why his remarks "led many to assume the worst," especially considering that the "open hostility against the LGBTQ+ community is still not uncommon."
He concluded, with one last clarification, "To be as clear as I can be, I stand with the LGBTQ+ community."
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