'Follow You to the Grave': Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Discuss Cancel Culture with Joe Rogan
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck said cancel culture leaves 'no room for forgiveness' during chat with Joe Rogan.
Jan. 17 2026, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck opened up about cancel culture on The Joe Rogan Experience, calling it a phenomenon that punishes people indefinitely, RadarOnline.com can report.
The actors described the social backlash as harsher than jail, with Damon saying it "just never ends."
'Follow You to the Grave'
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast to discuss cancel culture.
Joe Rogan framed the issue, saying, "This idea that one thing you said or one thing you did, and now we're going to exaggerate that to the fullest extent and cast you out of civilization for life."
Damon added, "in perpetuity." He expanded, "I bet some of those people would have preferred to go to jail for 18 months or whatever, and then come out and say, 'I paid my debt. Like, we're done. Like, can we be done?'"
"The thing about that getting kind of excoriated, publicly like that, it just never ends, and it's the first thing that… you know, it just will follow you to the grave," he continued.
Damon described social media backlash as harsher than serving time in jail.
'Outcast'
Affleck emphasized the lack of nuance and forgiveness in cancel culture.
Affleck added that cancel culture leaves "no room for forgiveness."
"To take any forgiveness out of it is a really f----- up thing because it makes it impossible to, a, to go 'Yeah I did that... that was wrong,' because once you say you've done it, you've become like an outcast. And I don’t think anybody wants to think you’re the sum total of… who you are is your worst moment," he explained.
Damon emphasized personal growth, adding, "It's about evolution and our own personal evolution, and we're all on our own path towards that. The idea of attacking someone… It's like 'Oh, so you aced the test? Like, put your pencil down, you nailed being human? You’re done, congratulations.'"
Matt Damon and Cancel Culture
Both actors reflected on how public scrutiny can follow someone indefinitely.
Damon himself has faced his own brush with cancel culture over the years. His tendency to make offhand comments that occasionally rubbed people the wrong way drew attention from Real Time with Bill Maher in 2021.
"It is a phenomenon that truly fascinates me, that every couple of years, Matt Damon, one of the most likable guys in Hollywood, with impeccable liberal credentials, is again flailing around in cancel culture quicksand," Maher said, referring to a situation regarding the use of a slur.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Matt Damon Response to Backlash
Damon’s past controversy over using the F-slur was highlighted as context for the conversation.
Damon famously faced backlash in 2021 after an interview with The Sunday Times in which he said he had stopped using the F-slur only "months ago" because his daughter wrote him a "treatise" on "how that word is dangerous."
He later clarified in a statement to Variety that he never used the word in his "personal life" and does not "use slurs of any kind." He also acknowledged that he understands why the interview "led many to assume the worst."
