Matt Damon has been blasted in the US by gun supporters after the Hollywood star praised Australia's strict firearm laws.
The powerful National Rifle Association pro-gun lobby group re-tweeted the actor's comments to its followers and other major US news organisations reported his stance, stirring up a hornet's nest of protest with calls to boycott Damon's films and for him to re-locate to Australia.
Damon was also labelled a hypocrite for making tens of millions of dollars from playing gun-toting action heroes in the Jason Bourne film franchise and other movies.
"Who cares what this jackass thinks?" one critic wrote on a Breitbart News article retweeted by the NRA.
"He lives in a fantasy world. I will bet he has armed body guards."
Another Damon critic wrote: "Why doesn't the dickhead just move to Australia?"
Damon also received support from Americans calling for stricter gun laws.
"Aussies are so much smarter than us," a Damon supporter responded on the NRA's Twitter account.
Damon was in Australia promoting Jason Bourne, the latest film in his blockbuster action series where he plays former black ops agent.
"You guys did it here in one fell swoop and I wish that could happen in my country, but it's such a personal issue for people that we cannot talk about it sensibly," Damon said in Sydney.
"We just can't."
