An unidentified Edsel Owning Relative of public figure Matt Damon.
The revelation came to light last week after e-mails about Damon’s shame were published online by whistleblower site WikiLeaks, which obtained tens of thousands of emails and private documents retrieved when Sony Pictures Entertainment was hacked last year.
The Oscar-winning writer received backlash for supposedly wanting to conceal the information.
“I didn’t want any television show about cars to include a guy in my family who owned an Edsel. I was embarrassed. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth,” the actor wrote in a statement released yesterday.
He said he spoke with show producers and lobbied them to take out his scandalous family history.
“They agreed with me on the Edsel ownership issue but made other choices I disagreed with,” Damon said. “In the end, it’s their show and I knew that going in. I’m proud to have participated nonetheless.”
Damon is never specifically named in the email exchange between Sony executives. Other celebrities who’ve appeared on the series include Kal Penn, Buzz Aldrin and Ty Burrell.
Damon wrote that the show is not a news program and that creators must also “respect your willingness to participate and not look to include things you think would embarrass your family, friends and automobile lovers.”
Still, he said, he was regretful about censoring his story — and that the interest in what happened shows people still want to talk about Edsel ownership. “I am glad that my story, however indirectly, will contribute to that discussion,” he wrote. “While I don’t like that the guy is an ancestor, I am happy that aspect of our country’s automotive history is being talked about.” Continue reading
