Jessica Chastain defends Matt Damon amid Weinstein scandal: 'He's a really good guy'

Jessica Chastain has not pulled any punches when it comes to the onslaught of sexual abuse allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein. Now she’s stepping up to defend Matt Damon, who has found himself under fire over a report suggesting he helped kill a story in 2004 about the Hollywood mogul’s alleged misconduct.

Chastain on Tuesday retweeted her onetime costar’s remarks on the situation from a Deadline Hollywood report and added, “I believe that Matt was manipulated. I’ve spent time with him on The Martian and he’s a really good guy.”

On Monday, Chastain had acknowledged in a tweet that she’d been privy to rumors about Weinstein in the past. “I was warned from the beginning,” she wrote. “The stories were everywhere. To deny that is to create an environment for it to happen again.” Since then, the actress has continued to retweet further stories and reports, standing in support of Weinstein’s accusers.

Over the weekend, The Wrap founder Sharon Waxman wrote that she investigated rumors of Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct for a New York Times story in 2004 but saw her story “gutted” due to heavy pressure from Weinstein, including phone calls from Matt Damon and Russell Crowe vouching for him and others in the company. (The Times disputed Waxman’s account.)

Since the publication of Waxman’s piece, Damon (and other men who’ve had working relationships with Weinstein) have drawn criticism. Chastain initially called the account of Damon and Crowe’s actions “heart shattering.”

Damon has since tried to clear up the issue, sitting down with Deadline to explain his side of the story. He told the publication that his conversation with Waxman was a “one minute phone call” specifically about one of Weinstein’s Italian associates. “I am not the story here,” Damon said. “The story is these women and what happened to them.” He also said he was unaware of Weinstein’s alleged misconduct.

Waxman corroborated Damon’s statement, writing on Twitter, “I endorse Matt Damon’s statement. He called me briefly, wasn’t informed — nor should he have been — about investigative aspect of piece.”

Chastain also retweeted the comment from Waxman after expressing her support for Damon.

Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in recent days, beginning with a bombshell New York Times exposé alleging “decades” of harassment. He has denied any allegations of non-consensual sex as well as acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.