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Matt Damon Gives His Lesson on Diversity and Inclusion to Black Woman Filmmaker

On Project Greenlight, Matt Damon Schools filmmaker Effie Brown on his brand of diversity and Inclusion HBO On Project Greenlight, Matt Damon Schools filmmaker Effie Brown on his brand of diversity and Inclusion

On HBO's Project Greenlight, Matt Damon tells Black woman Filmmaker diversity and inclusion is only in front of the camera

Did actor/director/producer Matt Damon just step in it or what!

The producers of HBO's Project Greenlight released a clip featuring Matt Damon interrupting a Black filmmaker to school her on diversity.

On Sunday's episode of Project Greenlight -- the show where Damon and Ben Affleck help promising directors get their first break in the film business by getting attached to a project-- the exercise was to choose a director for a comedy in which the only black character happens to be a prostitute. Damon, Ben Affleck, the Farrelly Brothers and Effie Brown, a black filmmaker, who has 17 feature films to her credit including Dear White People, had to make the decision as to who gets to direct the comedy.

Brown thought it was important to have diversity among the filmmakers so the character could be accurately and sensitively portrayed. The finalists consisted of several white guys, an Asian man, and a white woman.

"I would want to urge people to think about—whoever this director is, how they're going to treat the character of Harmony," Brown stated, "the only black character who's a hooker who gets hit by her white pimp."

Damon interrupted her and pooh-poohed, saying diversity should only go so far.

"When we're talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show," he said, referring to why he felt Brown's choice of diverse directors wasn't important.

"Hoo. Wow. OK!" Brown responded.

Going by this exchange, it appears that Damon thinks diversity and inclusion are good things to see on the big screen, but it's not really necessary in decision-making roles.

Of course, the Twittersphere is exploding and this one clip just might "break the Internet".

It's only a clip, but what are your thoughts? Is Matt Damon for real, or is this a publicity stunt to get more people to watch Project Greenlight?

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