Hollywood A-lister Matt Damon has revealed the true motivation behind his appearance in Crypto.com’s controversial advertisement, which was widely mocked in the aftermath of the cryptocurrency crash of 2022.
Speaking to the Associated Press at the premiere of his latest film, Damon acknowledged that the ad, which featured him amid a digital landscape of historical figures, had attracted a great deal of criticism.
However, the actor went on to explain that he had taken part in the campaign in an effort to raise funds for his clean water initiative, Water.org.
According to Damon, the charity had suffered a financially difficult year, and the actor had decided to use his profile to try and generate more donations.
Damon explained that Crypto.com had approached him after hearing about his commitment to Water.org, and had subsequently donated $1 million to the charity, without any expectation of publicity.
“I definitely have a lot of gratitude to them, and for what they did for our foundation,” Damon said.
The Crypto.com ad was released in October 2021, and featured Damon alongside aviation pioneers the Wright Brothers and mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary. However, it attracted widespread criticism after the cryptocurrency market suffered a severe downturn in 2022.
Damon has since become a figure of fun, with comedians such as Stephen Colbert and TV shows like South Park lampooning his involvement with Crypto.com.
However, Damon remains unrepentant about his decision to appear in the ad, arguing that it helped to raise vital funds for Water.org.
“I stand by what I did,” he said. “Water.org is an incredibly important cause, and I’ll always do whatever I can to support it.”