Matt Damon has come under fire on social media for an exchange that aired during Sunday night’s season premiere of HBO docu-series “Project Greenlight.”
In choosing a director for a comedy with a black prostitute as a main character, Damon and his fellow producers – including Ben Affleck , the Farrelly brothers and “Dear White People” producer Effie Brown – debated the finalists they had to choose from.
Brown lobbied for the directing duo of Leo Angelos & Kristen Brancaccio, an Asian man and white woman, arguing they could bring a diverse perspective to the script.
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“I would want to urge people to think about – whoever this director is, how they’re going to treat the character of Harmony,” she said. “The only black character who’s a hooker who gets hit by her white pimp.”
Damon retorted that Angelos and Brancaccio, out of the group of finalists, were the only ones who did not bring up the potentially problematic issues with the Harmony character.
“So on the surface they look like one thing, but they might end up giving us something we don’t want,” he said.
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But his next statement is when viewers decided he crossed a line.
“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 the need to focus on diversity during casting, not during the staffing of the show.
“Wow. Okay!” Brown answered in amazement.
Many social media users were just as exasperated as Brown. They relentlessly roasted Damon on Twitter and caused the hashtag #damonsplaining to trend for several hours on Monday.
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“Matt Damon speaking over the only black person in the room so he can explain diversity to her is SO WHITE it hurts,” said Twitter user MrPooni , whose tweet has been retweeted over 3,000 times and favorited nearly 2,500 times.
“Project Greenlight” ended up choosing New York-based director Jason Mann, a white male, for the job, and the rest of the season is set to follow Mann as he sets out to direct the Farrelly brothers’ script, “Not Another Pretty Woman.”
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Reps for Damon have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Below is a sampling of social media reactions to the “Project Greenlight” exchange:
https://twitter.com/HollaBlackGirl/status/643549105315164160
https://twitter.com/jennd1989_jenn/status/643578658523758592
Fall TV Preview: 126 New and Returning Shows Premiere Dates
“The Awesomes” (Hulu) Tuesday, Sept. 8
Hulu
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“The League” (FXX) Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 10 p.m.
FXX
“You’re the Worst” (FXX) Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 10:30 p.m.
FXX
“Longmire” (Netflix) Thursday, Sept. 10
Netflix
“Z Nation” (Syfy) Friday, Sept. 11 at 10 p.m.
Syfy
“Continuum” (Syfy) Friday, Sept. 11 at 11 p.m.
Syfy
“Project Greenlight” (HBO) Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 p.m.
HBO
“Doll & Em” (HBO) Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10:40 p.m.
HBO
“Dancing With the Stars” (ABC) Monday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m.
ABC
“The Mindy Project” (Hulu) Tuesday, Sept. 15
Hulu
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“The Bastard Executioner” (FX) Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 10 p.m.
FX
“South Park” (Comedy Central) Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 10 p.m.
Comedy Central
“Moonbeam City” (Comedy Central) Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 10:30 p.m.
Comedy Central
“Doctor Who” (BBC America) Saturday, Sept. 19
BBC America
“The Voice” (NBC) Monday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
NBC
“Gotham” (Fox) Monday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
Fox
“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS) Monday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m.
CBS
“Life in Pieces” (CBS) Monday, Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m.
CBS
“Minority Report” (Fox) Monday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m.
Fox
“Scorpion” (CBS) Monday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m.
CBS
“NCIS: Los Angeles” (CBS) Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 p.m.
CBS
“Castle” (ABC) Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 p.m.
ABC
“Blindspot” (NBC) Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 p.m.
NBC
“Scream Queens” (Fox) Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.
Fox
“NCIS” (CBS) Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.
CBS
“The Muppets” (ABC) Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m.
ABC
“Fresh off the Boat” (ABC) Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 8:30 p.m.
ABC
“NCIS: New Orleans” (CBS) Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 9 p.m.
CBS
“Limitless” (CBS) Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 10 p.m.
CBS
“Survivor” (CBS) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.
CBS
“Rosewood” (Fox) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.
Fox
“The Mysteries of Laura” (NBC) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.
NBC
“The Middle” (ABC) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m.
ABC
“The Goldbergs” (ABC) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 8:30 p.m.
ABC
“Empire” (Fox) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m.
Fox
“Law & Order: SVU” (NBC) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m.
NBC
“Modern Family” (ABC) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m.
ABC
“black-ish” (ABC) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9:30 p.m.
ABC
“Nashville” (ABC) Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 10 p.m.
ABC
“Heroes Reborn” (NBC) Thursday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m.
NBC
“Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC) Thursday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m.
ABC
“Scandal” (ABC) Thursday, Sept. 24 at 9 p.m.
ABC
“The Player” (NBC) Thursday, Sept. 24 at 10 p.m.
NBC
“How to Get Away With Murder” (ABC) Thursday, Sept. 24 at 10 p.m.
ABC
“Last Man Standing” (ABC) Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
ABC
“The Amazing Race” (CBS) Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
CBS
“Hawaii Five-0” (CBS) Friday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m.
CBS
“Shark Tank” (ABC) Friday, Sept. 25 at 9 p.m.
“Blue Bloods” (CBS) Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m.
CBS
“Bob’s Burgers” (Fox) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Fox
“The Simpsons” (Fox) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.
Fox
“Once Upon a Time” (ABC) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.
ABC
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” Finale (CBS) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m.
CBS
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (Fox) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 8:30 p.m.
Fox
“Family Guy” (Fox) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 9 p.m.
Fox
“Blood & Oil” (ABC) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 9 p.m.
ABC
“The Last Man on Earth” (Fox) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 9:30 p.m.
Fox
“Quantico” (ABC) Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 p.m.
ABC
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central) Monday, Sept. 28 at 11 p.m.
Comedy Central
“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (ABC) Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.
ABC
“Grandfathered” (Fox) Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.
Fox
“The Grinder” (Fox) Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 8:30 p.m.
Fox
“Beyond the Tank” (ABC) Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 10 p.m.
ABC
“Criminal Minds” (CBS) Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 9 p.m.
CBS
“Code Black” (CBS) Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 p.m.
CBS
“Chicago PD” (NBC) Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 p.m.
NBC
“Bones” (Fox) Thursday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.
Fox
“The Blacklist” (NBC) Thursday, Oct. 1 at 9 p.m.
NBC
“Sleepy Hollow” (Fox) Thursday, Oct. 1 at 9 p.m.
Fox
“Benders” (IFC) Thursday, Oct. 1 at 10 p.m.
IFC
“Dr. Ken” (ABC) Friday, Oct. 2 at 8:30 p.m.
ABC
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC) Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11:30 p.m.
NBC
“Madam Secretary” (CBS) Sunday, Oct. 4 at 8 p.m.
CBS
“The Leftovers” (HBO) Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.
HBO
“Homeland” (Showtime) Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.
Showtime
“The Good Wife” (CBS) Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m.
CBS
“CSI: Cyber” (CBS) Sunday, Oct. 4 at 10 p.m.
CBS
“The Affair” (Showtime) Sunday, Oct. 4 at 10 p.m.
Showtime
“The Flash” (CW) Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 8 p.m.
CW
“iZombie” (CW) Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 9 p.m.
CW
“Finding Carter ” (MTV) Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 10 p.m.
MTV
"Casual" (Hulu) Wednesday, Oct. 7
Hulu
“Arrow” (CW) Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m.
CW
“Supernatural” (CW) Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 9 p.m.
CW
“American Horror Story: Hotel” (FX) Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 10 p.m.
FX
“The Vampire Diaries” (CW) Thursday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.
CW
“The Originals” (CW) Thursday, Oct. 8 at 9 p.m.
CW
“Haven” (Syfy) Thursday, Oct. 8 at 10 p.m.
Syfy
“Funny or Die’s Billy on the Street” (truTV) Thursday, Oct. 8 at 10:30 p.m.
truTV
“Red Oaks” (Amazon) Friday, Oct. 9
Amazon
“Reign” (CW) Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m.
CW
“Undateable” (NBC) Friday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m.
NBC
“The Last Kingdom” (BBC America) Saturday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m.
BBC America
“The Walking Dead” (AMC) Sunday, Oct. 11 at 9 p.m.
AMC
“The Talking Dead” (AMC) Sunday, Oct. 11 at 10:30 p.m.
AMC
“Crazy Ex-Girlfrind” (CW) Monday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m.
CW
“Jane the Virgin” (CW) Monday, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m.
CW
“Fargo” (FX) Monday, Oct. 12 at 10 p.m.
FX
“Manhattan” (WGN) Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 9 p.m.
WGN
“Chicago Fire” (NBC) Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 10 p.m.
NBC
“Kingdom” (DirecTV) Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 9 p.m.
DirecTV
“Nathan for You” (Comedy Central) Thursday, Oct. 15 at 10 p.m.
Comedy Central
“The Knick” (Cinemax) Friday, Oct. 16
Cinemax
“Truth Be Told” (NBC) Friday, Oct. 16 at 8:30 p.m.
NBC
“Satisfaction” (USA) Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 p.m.
USA
“Please Like Me” (Pivot) Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 p.m.
Pivot
“RocketJump: The Show” (Hulu) Wednesday, Oct. 21
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“Hemlock Grove” (Netflix) Friday, Oct. 23
Netflix
“Da Vinci’s Demons” (Starz) Saturday, Oct. 24 at 8 p.m.
Starz
“Supergirl” (CBS) Monday, Oct. 26 at 8:30 p.m.
CBS
“Wicked City” (ABC) Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 10 p.m.
ABC
“Grimm” (NBC) Friday, Oct. 30 at 10 p.m.
NBC
“Ash vs. Evil Dead” (Starz) Saturday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m.
Starz
“Major Crimes” (TNT) Monday, Nov. 2 at 9 p.m.
TNT
“Legends” (TNT) Monday, Nov. 2 at 10 p.m.
TNT
“Angel From Hell” (CBS) Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9:30 p.m.
CBS
“Mom” (CBS) Thursday, Nov. 5 at 9 p.m.
CBS
“Elementary” (CBS) Thursday, Nov. 5 at 10 p.m.
CBS
“Master of None” (Netflix) Friday, Nov. 6
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“MasterChef Junior” (Fox) Friday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.
Fox
“Flesh and Bone” (Starz) Sunday, Nov. 8
Starz
“Chicago Med” (NBC) Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 10 p.m.
NBC
“Donny!” (USA) Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 10:30 p.m.
USA
“Into the Badlands” (AMC) Sunday, Nov. 15 at 10 p.m.
AMC
“The Man in the High Castle” (Amazon) Friday, Nov. 20
Amazon
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TheWrap’s essential guide to all of the 2015 TV season’s anticipated returns and newcomers