Effie Brown says she isn't Matt Damon's favourite person after Project Greenlight diversity row went viral

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Effie Brown has spoken out about the uproar caused when Matt Damon interrupted her to explain the concept of diversity during an episode of HBO's Project Greenlight.

The show is produced and developed by Damon and Ben Affleck, with each season focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film.

Controversy arose on the show’s current season during a meeting to pick the director for the film Not Such A Pretty Woman. Damon wanted an all-white, all-male team to produce the film about black female prostitutes, something Brown was critical of.

The clip of Damon talking over her, starting his argument “When you’re talking about diversity,” went viral and Damon was heavily criticised for thinking he knew more about diversity and equal opportunities than Brown.

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

— Glen Coco (@MrPooni) September 14, 2015

Speaking to Indiewire, Brown said that the version aired on TV was the “more polite version” of their exchange, explaining that the real altercation was much more tense.

She says that she considered biting her tongue during Damon’s explanation of diversity, but thought against it, remembering her mother, who would want her to “stand [up] and be counted.

“That’s all that went through my head: Damned if I was going to do that ... To my chagrin, when you're in that room, you have to validate yourself if no one takes you seriously: ‘Listen to me, I know what I'm doing’,” she said.

Brown added that her relationship with Damon is now rocky, noting that “Word on the street is I’m not his favourite person.”

She said that she has since asked for greater control over how she was being portrayed in edits.

“I said, ‘I’m not going to do any more on-camera interviews until I know what was being talked about’,” she explained.

“I'm not a man,” she added. “That's the thing. I've never been anything other than a black woman. I learned what I learned: to reach your goal, you can take several paths. I'm used to taking the direct straight path.”