Matthew McConaughey really, really wants you to read his autobiography, Greenlights, going on an all-out press push.
But the Dazed and Confused actor has earned a flood of headlines, though probably not in the way he probably envisioned.
Last week, on fellow actor Russell Brand’s podcast, McConaughey criticized the “illiberal left” and likened President Donald Trump supporters’ denial over his election loss to Hillary Clinton’s supporters in 2016.
The internet was mostly not here for it. Some defended him, but more criticized McConaughey for ‘both-side-sing’ the issues.
Brand asked McConaughey what he thought about people in the entertainment industry offhandedly dismissing “ordinary working people” who support Trump as “dumb.”
“There are a lot on that illiberal left that absolutely condescend, patronize, and are arrogant towards the other 50%,” McConaughey replied.
He then claimed that Hollywood liberals were in “absolute denial” when Trump won, just as his supporters are now.
“It looks like [President-elect Joe] Biden’s our guy. Now you’ve got the right that’s in denial, ’cause their side has fake news,” he added. “And I understand, they’ve been fed fake news. No one knows what the hell to believe, right? So they’re putting down their last bastion of defense.”
McConaughey, who calls himself an aggressive centrist and is rumored to be considering a bid for office, though he denies it, made the case for more moderate politics.
“I’ll meet you in the middle. I actually think that is more of a dare right now than it’s ever been.”
He said that someone recently suggested that centrism, or the “middle of the road,” was nothing but “yellow lines and dead armadillos.”
“And I said, let me tell you something, bud, I’m walking down the yellow line right now and the armadillos are running free having a great time. You know why? The other two sides, the two vehicles on either side of the political aisle are so far apart their tires aren’t even on the pavement anymore.”
McConaughey said almost the exact same things to the Times a few months ago.
McConaughey did have his defenders, but most of the internet was thoroughly unimpressed. To them, he was just another white guy showing his privilege.
“I knew there was some reason I never liked him,” tweeted @TraceyAnnCraft.
Some also noted that, while liberals accepted Clinton’s defeat in 2016, Trump supporters are actively trying to overturn the 2020 election, which undermines faith in democracy and has been likened to an attempted coup.
Many accused McConaughey of both-sides-ing the issues, pointing out that the left is fighting racial oppression and to preserve democracy, while the right is just fighting for power.
“When oppressed people fight for freedom, it’s not ok to tell them to smile and meet in the middle,” commented @MrTDavis.
“Matthew McConaughey: ‘One side is trying to fight systemic discrimination and ensure everyone’s basic needs are met and the other side supports genocide but they really need to come together,'” tweeted @yeralizard.