Matthew McConaughey Makes Eyebrow-Raising Remarks On Cancel Culture
Matthew McConaughey is famous for his acting, not for his political views. However, after the contentious 2020 presidential election, McConaughey has become more vocal about politics. Aside from considering the possibility of running for governor of Texas, the True Detective star shared his views on President-elect Joe Biden's win over President Trump. "Coming out of the election right now, we've got to stabilize," McConaughey said on an episode of The Hugh Hewitt Show. "This country's got to stabilize first before we start to say, okay, here's how we're marching out of this together, forward."
While McConaughey considers his own political views "aggressively centrist," per Forbes, some of his comments have raised eyebrows among both liberals and conservatives. In a November 2020 interview, the Magic Mike star called out celebrity liberals — or what he called Hollywood's "hypocrisy" — who "condescend" towards those with conservative viewpoints, per Page Six. The actor's outspokenness didn't stop there. On the topic of "cancel culture," McConaughey's remarks are causing serious controversy once again. Read on to find out why McConaughey's hot take isn't so hot with some of his fans.
Matthew McConaughey slams cancel culture and 'illiberals'
Matthew McConaughey's comments on cancel culture have landed him in trouble. In a Dec. 15, 2020 episode of Good Morning Britain, the famously voluble actor discussed a range of topics, ranging from his memoir Greenlights to political extremism.
"We need liberals, what I don't think we need is illiberals," McConaughey told hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. "What I don't think some liberals see is they're being cannibalized by the illiberals. There are extremes on both sides that I think are unfair... the extreme left and extreme right completely illegitimize the other side. They exaggerate the other side's stance into an irrational state that makes no sense."
McConaughey also acknowledged his fear of the future of freedom of speech. According to his claims, society needs more legitimate confrontation without distaste for opposing opinions.
"Where the water line is gonna land on freedom of speech, what we allow and what we don't, where this cancel culture goes, is a very interesting place that we're engaged in as a society and are trying to figure out. We haven't found the right spot," McConaughey continued. "We don't give a legitimacy or validation to an opposing point of view, we make it persona non grata, and that's unconstitutional."
Fans of McConaughey, however, aren't loving his take. "I just hate how 2020 is making me not like so many people that I used to like admire respect etc.," one person said on Twitter. Another critic tweeted, "Just another yapping actor. Nobody wants to listen to his drivel." Yikes!