Matt Damon speaking over the only black person in the room so he can explain diversity to her is SO WHITE it hurts pic.twitter.com/iaQStYZ0ij [1]

— Glen Coco (@MrPooni) September 14, 2015 [2]

This past weekend, the fourth season of HBO's Project Greenlight premiered, featuring a somewhat heated discussion on diversity between Matt Damon and Hollywood producer Effie Brown, who produced the 2014 drama Dear White People. In short, Effie suggests that perhaps having a person of color in the director's chair would ensure proper treatment of the film's only black character. Matt cuts in, saying, "When we're talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not in the casting of the show." Essentially, his point boils down to this: if you want to promote diversity, you can assemble a diverse cast, but you don't necessarily need a diverse production team.

On Wednesday, Matt released a statement to The Wrap [3], saying, "My comments were part of a much broader conversation about diversity in Hollywood and the fundamental nature of Project Greenlight which did not make the show. I am sorry that they offended some people, but, at the very least, I am happy that they started a conversation about diversity in Hollywood."