When Reese Witherspoon was called out by PETA for carrying a (gorgeous) python handbag, Reese didn’t respond at all to their letter about the poor pythons suffering for fashion and instead just started using a different bag. In Reese’s case, she was able to ignore PETA but tacitly acknowledge them by putting the bag away, and PETA gloated about it a little. They’re an insufferable organization and Reese probably knows that it’s best not to directly address them. Well Matt Damon can’t say the same. PETA called him out for attending a bullfight in Mexico (photos are here and he looks like he’s having a great time), and then he personally called them and said that he doesn’t support bullfighting, that bullfighting is awful, and that he was just doing research or something.
We wrote to Matt Damon as soon as pictures of him at a Mexican bullfight surfaced—and within 24 hours, he personally telephoned PETA Vice President Lisa Lange to correct the false impression that he had given,” PETA’s Jane Dollinger tells RadarOnline.com.
“Matt said that he went to the bullfight believing that bullfights should be stopped but felt that he should see the cruelty for himself while he was in Mexico. He said that seeing with his own eyes what these tormented animals go through only reinforced an already strongly held belief that bullfights should be relegated to the history books.
“He also said that he was upset to think that his attendance was in any way construed to be an endorsement of such a barbaric activity.”
[From Radar]
This is the right stance to take on bullfighting, and I’ll give Matt Damon this – he probably called them instead of issuing a statement because he wanted to get the least publicity for this as possible. Knowing PETA, he had to realize that they would go public with this information about his shameless ass-kissery. I guess I don’t blame him. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t where PETA is concerned. I’m surprised they don’t issue press releases whenever a celebrity is photographed eating a steak. You know they would do it if they could get away with it.
Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana, are shown at the Contagion premiere on 9/7 and at the Venice Film Festival on 9/3. Credit: Fame and WENN.com
Another one bites the dust.
Grow a pair? More like grow some hair. Yuk. Some men can’t do bald. He’s one of them.
Grow a pair! Since when does anyone have to answer to PETA?! It only reinforces their sense of importance.
I’m not buying his exuse for attending that bullfight thing, seems like a poor attempt to do damage control.
Weak sauce, Matt.
I dislike peta. I think they lie and don’t live to the principles they spout, they re too busy throwing red paint on people. But if you research bullfighting its terrible. And may damon wouldn’t have seen the worst part (the bull being beaten and poked with spikes to make it mad enough to fight) from his seat. He had no reason to kiss their ass. If he felt the need to say anything he could have just had his publicist release a statement. He has no obligation to explain why he was there to anyone. Why does peta feel so entitled to explanations? Like we need them to hold our hands in figuring our right and wrong?! I hate the attitude of ‘no let me educate you’ when we can do our ok by itself and don’t need to be bullied by angry animal killing vegetarian fascists! Lol this is from a vegetarian!
BS. I doubt he really had to see it first hand to know that it’s wrong. He could have just have watched a video on Youtube or a documentary if he really wanted to see the brutality of the sport. This just sounds like him covering up his ass because someone caught him doing something that goes against his liberal, progressive Hollywood actor image.
That being said, PETA needs to mind their own business and instead of trying to scare or shame people into caring about animal rights they need to try and work to make conditions in meat processing plants more humane and try to educate people in a more respectful manner, because all they are doing is making people hate them.
PETA can kiss MY butt.
They are offensive, not educational, and I find their practises highly hypocritical.
@jinni Well said. Animal cruelty by factory farming animals as if they were objects needs to stop. If you cannot be vegetarian, buy organic free ranged. For people that don’t care of the welfare of animals, think about the hormones pumped into factory farmed animals.
I’m actually vegan, so I’m all for not eating animals, but I think it’s a little naive to tell people they should all buy organic free range. That sh*t is expensive and a lot of people can’t afford it. The sad reality is that factory farms are able to sell their products at a much lower price than smaller organic farms. By all means, continue to encourage people, but I think it’s important to be aware of our privileges.
and man, PETA makes all of us Veggies look bad. but Damon’s excuse also sounds pretty weak.
He looks gawd-awful with his bald head! Stupid
Matt Damon’s story is ridiculous. Does he really expect anyone to buy it? Bullfighting is abhorrent. What a jerk!
Also I believe he has a film coming out about saving a zoo , living there and helping the animals. Meanwhile he’s at bull fight cheering a Matador while he’s killing a bull and watching it die slowly. Sorry What a F-in HYPOCRITE you are Matt Damon!
oh mr Damon, used to like you before this-i understand the peta f–ktards are hard to ignore but yeah he could have tactfully ignored them. peta are total hypocrites anyhow and are just fame hungry attention seeking money seeking whores.
He’s a strong humanitarian and environmentalist. Him attending a bullfight doesn’t mean he supports it. I’ve been invited to a bullfight, I have also attending many rodeos in the US. Roping the calves is cruel and pinching the bucking broncos balls is cruel. If people are so up and up, they better stop eating cows, bacon, turkey, chicken etc…BTW, I am a vegetarian. The cruelest bull fighting is in Spain but the town survives on it. He’s still my number one actor.
Well, he couldn’t just switch to a different, non-bullfighting purse in this scenario, so I don’t really see what else he could have done short of completely ignoring them.
Personally, I’m glad he put out this statement, as this whole incident has put him in a different light in my eyes. Bullfighting is animal cruelty, and it’s disappointing that he went to a bull fight.
PETA should be called out every day for killing animals that they can’t be bothered finding new families for, and it’s not only old and sick animals they kill, and not just a handful but thousand.
Oh, get real. My local Humane Society shelter gets 100 dogs A WEEK. And I live in a fairly small town! Who is going to adopt them? No kill shelters make no sense to me at all. They just delude people into thinking there are enough homes for all the strays out there. BTW I have three shelter dogs myself.
Tradition is no excuse for animal abuse. You don’t need to see it happen to do research, or know it’s cruel. No respect for Matt any more and this can only do harm to his image. I don’t support PETA – they seem to do more harm than good to the animal rights movement. As a vegan, I hate all animal cruelty.
love matt, love his bald head, dislike peta.
Check out this video PETA made: http;//meat.org
We’ve lost focus here, folks. This has nothing to do with Peta, and everything to do with Matt Damon, a “Humanitarian” with $Millions attending a commonly known CRUEL, barbaric activity: Bull fighting, and there is video footage of him cheering all the while! My boss, a C-level executive and avid hunter attended a bull fight in Spain with his family and said it was SO CRUEL he LEFT after the 1st of 5 bull fights! He advised that they use young, smaller bulls and SLASH the MUSCLES in their backs to start bleeding them before they are even released into the ring, so they are in pain and weak from the start, then taunted with a red flag to do what nature made them to do, then stabbed and stabbed over and over until they fall over, then stabbed more as they lie there helpless and dying. How fair a “fight” is that? Americans have been trying to OUTLAW this cruel act for years, but it is sickly a Spanish tradition. Yet Matt Damon paid MONEY to support the slow torture and slaughter of these creatures. NO living creature deserves this! In an instant, I’ve gone from a Damon lover to a Damon loather. I hope his new movie flops, and everything else he does. And this creepy “green/humanitarian” hypocrit intends to run for president? Laughable.