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Matt Damon reveals why he appeared in Crypto.com’s most infamous ad

The Hollywood icon was relentlessly mocked for appearing in the ad in 2021, which was released just before the crypto markets plummeted.

Hollywood star Matt Damon has finally opened up on why he appeared in cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com’s infamous “Fortune Favors the Brave” advertisement, which was once the subject of relentless mockery.

Speaking to the Associated Press on March 27 at the premiere of his new film, Damon appeared somewhat abashed as he explained his reason for appearing in the ad. He said it was mainly because his clean water initiative, Water.org, was indire financial circumstances, explaining:

”We had a down year in Water.org, and I did that commercial in an attempt to raise money for Water.org.”

Damon founded the clean water project in 2009 alongside engineer and philanthropist Gary White. It aims to increase access to clean water globally by providing small loans that finance the purchase and installation of water taps and toilets.

Damon explained that he had once given his whole salary to Water.org because it was in a dire financial position.

The Hollywood icon continued to say that “Crypto.com heard about that and they gave $1 million dollars to Water.org just on their own,” before adding:

“I definitely have a lot of gratitude to them, and for what they did for our foundation.”

Released in October 2021, the ad starred Damon amid a digital landscape of historic figures such as the Wright brothers and Sir Edmund Hillary. It appeared on billboards and television spots globally.

Related: SEC files lawsuit against Tron’s Justin Sun and celebrities over crypto securities offering

Following a horrendous year for crypto in 2022, the ad received widespread criticism, and Damon has since been the butt of numerous jokes, such as those on the TV show South Park and from late-night hosts such as Stephen Colbert.

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The future is Bitcoin according to South Park creators

“It’s the future — we’ve all decided centralized banking is rigged so we trust more in fly-by-night Ponzi schemes,” said the motel clerk accepting Bitcoin as payment.

South Park, the animated TV series that often tackles topical issues with a comedic twist, showed Bitcoin being used as a mainstream means of payment in the not too distant future.

In the “Post COVID” episode of its 24th season which aired Thursday, South Park depicted one of the show’s protagonists, Stan Marsh, paying for a stay in a cheap motel using Bitcoin (BTC) roughly 40 years from now, when the pandemic is jokingly about to end for good. The fictional Super 12 Motel Plus — in a future where nearly all brand names have “plus” and “maxx” included — only accepts “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency,” with the show having Marsh pay using a plastic card with the BTC logo and a QR code.

“It’s the future — we’ve all decided centralized banking is rigged so we trust more in fly-by-night Ponzi schemes,” said the motel clerk.

Many in the crypto space know South Park for its criticism of the United States government’s and banks’ response following the 2008 financial crisis, popularized by the meme “aaaand... it’s gone” — referring to Marsh losing money immediately after depositing it in a bank. Among the other future predictions in the recent episode are autonomous vehicles, holographic digital assistants and stand-up comedy becoming a shadow of itself amid “woke” culture.

Though referencing cryptocurrency and blockchain in mainstream media is somewhat commonplace now, this wasn’t always the case. The first TV series to feature BTC was The Good Wife in January 2012, but others have gone on to use the emerging technology and financial tool for both comedy and drama. This year, James Spader’s character in The Blacklist claimed to know the true identity of Satoshi, and The Simpsons showed the BTC price moving to infinity on an animated stock ticker feed.

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Bitcoin's appearance on the popular animated series comes as the price of the crypto asset has stayed mostly under $60,000 for more than a week. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the BTC price is $59,237 at the time of publication, having fallen more than 14% since reaching an all-time high of $69,000 on Nov. 10.

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