SNL's casting Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh was a terrible decision considering his past #MeToo comments

The Daily Beast

"Regardless of how the performance was received, it’s almost unbelievable that Damon was cast in the first place," says Kevin Fallon. "It’s one of a series of gripes with an episode that proved the show either inelegant or incapable of dealing with issues surrounding sexual assault with nuance, hindered by its own reckless pursuit of headlines over responsibility." As Fallon points out, Damon was at the center of controversy last year after he responded to the #MeToo movement by decrying the "culture of outrage" and arguing that allegations of sexual misconduct should be analyzed on a "spectrum." Damon also defended Louis CK and said not enough attention was being paid to the men who didn't commit acts of sexual misconduct. He later apologized for his insensitive remarks. "Perhaps Damon and SNL thought that having him play Kavanaugh in a sketch meant to expose the judge as a hypocrite and a liar puts the actor on some path to atonement for his previous remarks on the issue. Or perhaps they both thought it too innocuous to consider," says Fallon. "But these things matter. Even celebrity casting on a sketch comedy series matters. If we are to judge this on a spectrum, casting a man who once insinuated that the #MeToo movement has gone too far as Brett Kavanaugh falls somewhere between tone-deaf and triggering at a time when women who come forward continue to be dismissed, vilified, mocked, targeted, and not believed."

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