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Here’s what George Clooney and Matt Damon Knew About Harvey Weinstein

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Updated on March 27, 2021

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On Monday, George Clooney and Matt Damon appeared on ABC News to talk about their new film, Suburbicon, but the focus soon shifted to the hot topic in Hollywood: Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct and harassment accusations.

The actors, who have previously collaborated with Weinstein on numerous projects, went into great depth about what they learned about his actions.

In a video interview with Michael Strahan, Damon said, “When people say things like, ‘Everybody knew,’ like, well, I knew he was an asshole” (watch it below). “You know what I mean? He was proud of it. That was the way he walked. I had a feeling he was a womanizer. I’m not sure I’d like to marry him. That isn’t exactly my area of expertise. But this degree of criminal sexual predation was never something I used to see. Certainly not.”

Damon said, “He didn’t do it out in the open,” after admitting he was aware of Weinstein’s recent sexual assault of actress Gwyneth Paltrow. “Because Ben [Affleck] was with her after Brad [Pitt], I knew the story about Gwyneth. So I knew the novel, but I was working on [The Talented Mr.] Ripley with Gwyneth and Harvey. I never mentioned it to Gwyneth. Ben told me. But I knew that whatever consensus or arrangement they had reached, she had handled it, and she was, you know, Miramax’s First Lady, and he still regarded her with utmost respect,” he added.

“I’ve known Harvey for 20 years,” Clooney said earlier this month of his relationship with Weinstein. He gave me my first big break as an actor in films on From Dusk Till Dawn, he gave me my first big break as a director with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.”

Weinstein would sometimes brag about his sexual activities, the actor said in the latest interview, but he didn’t really trust him. “Harvey will tell me about the woman with whom he had affairs. To be honest, I didn’t really trust him because believing him would mean believing the worst of any of my friends’ actresses. And I didn’t believe they were going to have affairs with Harvey, which they obviously didn’t. But the thought that this predator, this assailant, was out there silencing women in that way is beyond infuriating, and the fact that the story is just coming out and the more it comes out, the more I want to know,” Clooney told ABC News.

“We have to make it comfortable for women to feel that they should talk about this,” the actor said, announcing that his wife Amal has experienced sexual abuse in her work as a human rights lawyer.

“Many, if not all, women have experienced this type of action at some stage in their lives. That may come as a bit of a shock to some of us. Clooney said, “That it’s this high.” “Perhaps another positive thing that comes out of this is that… we’re going to have these talks.” This is what we’re going to talk about. And we’re trying to make it even more difficult for it to happen.”