The great outpouring of sexual harassment and assault allegations shows no sign of slowing down. Ever since The New York Times published their explosive exposé chronicling film producer Harvey Weinstein's history of sexual misconduct, more and more claims have been lobbied against influential men such as Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, Louis CK and photographer, Terry Richardson. While the now-disgraced figures should serve as an example to men everywhere, certain individuals apparently believe that it is a good idea to defend some of the accused. Namely, actor Matt Damon. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/irCpRwyvuC/?hl=en&taken-by=mattdamon5]] The 47-year-old was promoting his new feature, Downsizing, on Popcorn with Peter Travers when he felt compelled to speak out about the "culture of outrage" that surrounds allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. He said, "I do believe that there’s a spectrum of behaviour, right? And we’re going to have to figure—you know, there’s a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?" Now, as if this wasn't bad enough, Damon then decided to defend the disgraced comedian, Louis CK, who has been accused of masturbating in front of several non-consenting women. He decisively asserted: "When he came out and said, 'I did this. I did these things. These women are all telling the truth.' And I just remember thinking, 'Well, that’s the sign of somebody who—well, we can work with that.' I don’t know Louis C.K. I’ve never met him. I’m a fan of his, but I don’t imagine he’s going to do those things again. 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." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/igZfwzSvtj/?hl=en&taken-by=mattdamon5]] Women everywhere were appalled by Matt Damon's brazen defence of someone whose sexual misconduct has been a terribly guarded secret in the entertainment industry for years. The internet, however, was more than willing to step in to ensure that Matt Damon realized his wrongdoing. An online petition has gained over 25,000 signatures after asserting that they want Matt Damon's cameo in the upcoming, all-female Ocean's 8 cancelled. The reboot will feature some seriously kick-ass women, including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, and Anne Hathaway, and it makes sense that in light of his recent comments, Matt Damon isn't included in the feature. The people behind the appeal write that "The movie [highlights] the talents of its tremendous female cast and showcase the savvy and prowess of its characters," adding that Damon's involvement would "trivialise the serious nature of the charges against sexual abusers like [Harvey] Weinstein — a show massive disrespect for the brave women speaking out."

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Actress Alyssa Milano spoke out last week about Matt Damon's harmful comments. In an open letter posted on Twitter, she wrote: "Dear Matt Damon, it’s the micro that makes the macro." "We are in a ‘culture of outrage’ because the magnitude of rage is, in fact, overtly outrageous. And it is righteous. I have been a victim of each component of the sexual assault spectrum of which you speak. They all hurt. And they are all connected to a patriarchy intertwined with normalized, accepted–even welcomed– misogyny" "There are different stages of cancer. Some more treatable than others. But it’s still cancer. Sexual harassment, misconduct, assault and violence is a systemic disease. The tumor is being cut out right now with no anesthesia. Please send flowers. #MeToo." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/941840663087218689]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/941840799506898944]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/941840946420789250]] We can only hope that this petition writes home to Matt Damon about the severity of his words. Defending men who are accused of crimes of sexual misconduct prioritises and silences the experiences of their victims. And this is something, that we women, and society writ large, are no longer willing to tolerate.

Last week, allegations against Harvey Weinstein reached the press, prompting dozens of women to come forward with complaints about the American film producer. He has so far been accused of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment - but maintains that all encounters he had were consensual. Despite the numerous cases stacked against him, Weinstein has so far not been charged with any criminal offences. And, while he has been fired from his own company and removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he seems to have escaped public criticism from many of his peers, with some of them even expressing sympathy for him. Even more astoundingly, some people have actually defended Weinstein, claiming that many of his accusers are lying or exaggerating their stories in order to garner some space in the public eye. But why would somebody think that? Why on earth would a woman risk her career, her respect, and her reputation in order to lie about a horrific violation against her body? The problem is, many believe that women and other victims of assault are fabricating their claims, and that sexually-motivated attacks cannot possibly be that common - but that's because they aren't always reported. As we have seen with the Harvey Weinstein cases, victims of assault often feel ashamed or threatened by the ordeal, and are reluctant to take the incident to the police. Moreover, the fear of having to face the attacker later on in court, of having to re-live the incident over and over again for the benefit of others, and then - after all that - of seeing the instigator walk free, is not worth the risk. In order to demonstrate just how often these sorts of violations happen, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted this: "If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/919659438700670976]] Within just a matter of hours, 25,000 people had responded - many of them simply replying with those two words, and others elaborating on their experience. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/AnnaPaquin/status/919661075150159872]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/najwazebian/status/919716293602893825]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheNikkiDuBose/status/919706785073709056]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BethMooreLPM/status/919745870635175937]] The sheer magnitude of responses reminded Twitter users that, just because it's not something we talk about, it doesn't mean sexual assault is uncommon. More reassuringly, it also showed people that they are not alone, and that coming forward about such abuse is not something we should have to fear. Along with confessions were messages of encouragement: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/womensmarch/status/919705604075216896]] Of solidarity: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Amy_Siskind/status/919682953642496000]] And of requests for a change in attitude: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Pappiness/status/919752795280027648]] Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Cara Delevingne are just a few of those who have come forward with claims against Weinstein. Their accounts - along with others - are reminders of other big names in Hollywood who have been accused of abusing their power and committing acts of sexual abuse against women and/or children; namely Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Roman Polanski. Hopefully, the huge amount of responses from women and other victims around the world will reiterate the importance of taking sexual abuse claims seriously, and encourage people to refrain from victim-blanking or shaming. In light of recent events, a spokesperson released this statement on behalf of Harvey Weinstein: "Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances." Weinstein himself has yet to comment further.

In wake of this year's sexual harassment and assault scandals, people have been more vigilant than ever in regards to the things they say, and the people who they lend their support to. Only last week, actor Matt Damon was lambasted by Alyssa Milano who felt compelled to pen an open letter to address his highly controversial comments about the recent scandals surrounding sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry. The 47-year-old actor defended the now-disgraced comedian Louis CK, who has been accused of masturbating in front of several non-consenting women. He stated, "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." Speaking at The Envelope roundtable, hosted by the Los Angeles Times, Winslet asserted "Woody Allen is an extraordinary writer", referring to her latest motion picture, Wonder Wheel, which was written and directed by Allen. She continued, "He’s obviously known for having created extraordinary roles, very very powerful and complicated roles for women, for many many years". Upon hearing where exactly the conversation was headed, Robbie, who was seated next to Winslet quickly turned stony faced. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/DorianParksnRec/status/942252601566838784]] Jessica Chastain and Saoirse Ronan, who were also present on the the roundtable, also made it clear that they were unimpressed by Winslet's admiration of the director. Allen was accused of sexual assault by his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, back in 1992 when she was seven years old. In 2014, Dylan spoke out about her experiences with her adoptive father in a New York Times essay. She wrote: "When I was seven years old, Woody Allen took me by the hand and led me into a dim, closet-like attic on the second floor of our house.  "He told me to lay on my stomach and play with my brother’s electric train set. Then he sexually assaulted me. He talked to me while he did it, whispering that I was a good girl, that this was our secret, promising that we’d go to Paris and I’d be a star in his movies." She recently responded to Allen's new film on Twitter, asserting that she hopes that the #MeToo movement will finally open the eyes of actors and actresses, who have historically turned a blind eye to Allen's transgressions. She stated: "Today Woody Allen releases another film nationwide. People like @jtimberlake, @JimBelushi, #KateWinslet, and others will promote it and praise him for it. Today I will be triggered by every movie ad, every review, every mention of the man who stole my childhood from me. There are many others like me who are continually revictimized when they are disbelieved, or just outright ignored, because the truth is too inconvenient to accept, too difficult to deal with. When we enable powerful predators, in every walk of life, we are willing accomplices in the continued harm inflicted on their victims. We are complicit."  [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/realdylanfarrow/status/941690318382161920]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/realdylanfarrow/status/941690385109274626]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/realdylanfarrow/status/941690487433564165]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/realdylanfarrow/status/941690564780658688]]

Matt Damon has been criticized on social media after claiming to have only recently stopped using a homophobic slur after being confronted by his daughter.

The 50-year-old Good Will Hunting star breached the subject in a recent interview with The Sunday Times, in which he spoke about how attitudes towards "modern masculinity" have changed since he was younger.

In particular, he claimed that the use of the word "f*****" or "f**" - derogatory terms used to describe homosexual individuals - was once far more widespread in everyday society.

Credit: Alamy/MediaPunch Inc

To illustrate this, Damon stated: "The word that my daughter calls the 'f-slur for a homosexual' was commonly used when I was a kid, with a different application."

"I made a joke, months ago, and got a treatise from my daughter. She left the table. I said: 'Come on, that’s a joke! I say it in the movie Stuck on You!'

"She went to her room and wrote a very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous. I said: 'I retire the f-slur!' I understood."

However, when snippets of Damon's interview emerged on social media, a number of Twitter users lambasted the actor for using such offensive language so recently.

For instance, comedian Travon Free wrote: "So Matt Damon just figured out 'months ago', by way of a 'treatise' from a child, that he's not supposed to say the word f*****. Months ago. Months ago."

Hollywood Reporter journalist Daniel Fienberg commented: "As a member of the press, I like when celebrities talk to the press.

"But it's always illuminating to hear the stories that folks like Liam Neeson or Matt Damon think are humanizing and charming, but actually reveal insulation and isolation (among other unsavory stuff) instead."

The Lion King star Billy Eichner wrote: "I want to know what word Matt Damon has replaced f***** with."

Another critic commented: "I've lost some respect for Matt Damon for two reasons: 1. Being a [...] Harvard-educated person who only realized using homophobic slurs was a bad thing *months* ago; and

"2. Being foolish enough to think that was a cute story he should share with the world."

Finally, someone else chimed in: "The fact that Matt Damon’s daughter had to explain to him that saying a slur is wrong is insane."

Per Pink News, Twitter users also gave Damon the meme treatment following his revelation - with the publication describing them as "far funnier than any of Damon’s dinner table jokes, or his own films, to be fair".

Featured Image Credit: Alamy/EP Celebrity Photos

Actress Alyssa Milano has leapt to the defence of former Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, who has been accused by two women in recent days of sexual misconduct.

First of all, Lucy Flores, who was running as the Democratic candidate for Nevada's Lieutenant Governor in 2014, claims that Biden kissed her on the back of her head at a campaign event, smelled her hair and rubbed her shoulders without her consent.

In addition to this, Amy Lappos, a former aide to a Democratic Congressman, alleged that Biden touched her inappropriately at a fundraiser in 2009.

As a result of these claims, Alyssa Milano, an actress, activist and vocal representative of the Time's Up movement, has made a public statement defending Biden as a friend and professional.

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Taking to Twitter in an emotional post, Milano wrote:

"I am proud to call Joe Biden a friend. He has been a leader and a champion on fighting violence against women for many years, and I have been fortunate to accompany him to events with survivors where he has listened to their stories, empathized with them, and comforted them.

That's who Joe Biden is - a warm, generous individual who believes it's on all of us to pay attention to women's stories and experiences."

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In follow-up tweets, Milano added:

"Biden started Its On Us [sic] because he believes to meaningfully change our culture, everyone - including those often left out of the conversation like college athletes and fraternity brothers - needed to be part of the movement. Joe Biden’s response that he never meant to make anyone uncomfortable and that he'll listen and learn from anyone who says otherwise is exactly the leadership we need to build a culture where women are heard and are equal.

"I respect Lucy Flores' decision to share her story and agree with Biden that we all must pay attention to it. But, just as we must believe women that decide to come forward, we cannot assume all women's experiences are the same. I believe that Joe Biden's intent has never been to make anyone uncomfortable and that his kind, empathetic leadership is what our country needs. Especially now."

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A spokesperson has also issued a statement on behalf of Biden regarding the controversy, which reads:

"In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once - never - did I believe I acted inappropriately.

But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will."

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There has been much speculation that Biden was planning to run for president in the 2020 elections, but in the wake of these allegations, those plans may be thrown into doubt.