Petition to dump Matt Damon's cameo in Ocean's 8 gathers pace

Dec 23, 2017 06:00 am

An online petition demanding the axing of US actor Matt Damon cameo in next year's heist movie Ocean's 8 has nearly reached its goal of 17,000 signatures by Thursday.

Critics said his inclusion would be particularly galling given its status as an all-female reboot of the popular franchise.

The petition alleges that Damon "enabled" Harvey Weinstein's conduct by trying to squash a New York Times report in 2004 that detailed instances where he exploited his status to harass and assault women.

Damon denied trying to bury the story and claimed he had no idea of the allegations against Weinstein, who helped catapult him to international fame.

He also came under fire last week, for saying there was a "spectrum of behaviour" and a "difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation", further adding that "both of those behaviours need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn't be conflated, right?". - AFP