People Are Petitioning For Matt Damon's Cameo To Be Cut from 'Ocean's 8'

Thousands have signed an online petition demanding Matt Damon's cameo is removed from the upcoming Ocean's 8 reboot following the actor's controversial comments on sexual assault.

The all-female film, which stars Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway and Cate Blanchett, is "supposed to be an empowering film for women" the petition read. And it is widely believed that the actor's inclusion will "trivialise the serious nature of the charges against sexual abusers like (Harvey) Weinstein - a show of massive disrespect for the brave women speaking out."

The petition calls for film producer George Clooney, who is a close friend of the Bourne star, to cut his scene.

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Damon sparked outrage after a recent interview with ABC News, as the actor gave his opinion on the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement.

"There's a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?" Damon said to interviewer Peter Travers. "Both of those behaviours need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn't be conflated, right?"

The actor then went on to claim that Louis C.K. should be allowed to work again despite the comedian admitting that he is guilty of five counts of sexual misconduct against women.

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"I don't imagine he's going to do those things again," Damon continued. "You know what I mean? I imagine the price that he's paid at this point is so beyond anything that he - I just think that we have to kind of start delineating between what these behaviours are."

And his tone-deaf comments faced backlash online from fans:

Actress Alyssa Milano also addressed the 47-year-old in a series of Tweets, as she took to the social media platform to write:

"We are not outraged because someone grabbed our asses in a picture. We are outraged because we were made to feel this was normal. We are outraged because we have been gaslighted. We are outraged because we were silenced for so long."

Over 20,000 people have already signed the petition.

This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR UK.

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