Matthew McConaughey's emotional speech on Uvalde shooting
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Matthew McConaughey had been publicly debating the idea of joining politics, but after announcing his decision against it, he has been open about his dismay at politicians across the divide and the world. The actor, who has won numerous awards including an Oscar for best actor, appears in A Time To Kill on BBC tonight at 11:50pm.
In recent years he has increasingly commented on political issues, and after declaring his interest in running for Texas governor last year, polling data revealed a large majority swaying in his favour.
However, just two weeks before the deadline for candidates to file their interest, McConaughey shared on Twitter that he would not be running after all.
Since his announcement, the “aggressive centralist” has been unafraid of lashing out against politicians on all sides of the political divide, especially in light of recent American political scandals.
Before this, in 2020, McConaughey appeared on Good Morning Britain, speaking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid to promote his new book Greenlights.
It was here that he went on a political tirade, and argued “you need liberals, what I don’t think we need is the illiberals”.
He commented liberals “are often being cannibalised by the illiberals,” and that the extremes on either side of the political divide are not “the right place to be”.
Explaining this, he said: “The extreme left and the extreme right completely illegitimise the other two sides, the liberal and conservative sides.
“Or they exaggerate that side’s stance into an irrational state that makes no sense and that’s not fair when either side does that.”
He also spoke out against cancel culture, saying it was “unconstitutional” and threatened democracy.
He explained that in order for democracy to work well it requires “confrontation to have unity”, which cancel culture forbids by avoiding “true confrontation”.
Earlier this year, McConaughey expressed his disdain for American party politics in an interview with Fox News Digital, arguing that both sides had a concerning “loss of values”, which was attributing to the rivalry between them.
He said: “Their whole identities almost sometimes seem to be based on the invalidation of the other, instead of the validation of their own vision.”
In another interview, with the New York Times shortly after announcing his decision on the governor campaign run, he explained why he believed he was so sought after in voter polls.
He shared: “I think people believe they can trust me. The other side of that is, the newcomer, we always want that just because it’s unknown.”
Adding that he knew the “currency” he had earned as a celebrity and philanthropist would put him in good stead with voters but it simply was “not the category for me at this point in my life”.
He was presented with the idea that he was simply “teasing” his political debut, as other entertainment stars have been known to do but never follow through on.
He admitted: “If I’m teasing it, then while I’m teasing you I’m teasing myself. I’m spending a good amount deliberating and really working my mind, heart and spirit on the questions.”
McConaughey was also questioned on current political issues, providing his opinion on topics like vaccine mandates, abortion and taxes.
Regarding mandates, he said he believed a mask mandate was not as “quick and easy” as it should have been, describing wearing masks during the pandemic as “a small inconvenience for a possible long term freedom”.
Regarding abortion, he highlighted that it had been a great topic of debate in his home state for years, saying the last abortion law “was overly aggresive to me”.
He explained: “It doesn’t seem to open up any room for a sense of choice to be made at the right time. We’ve got to take context with each situation. You hear about someone that gets raped, that’s not a woman’s choice.
“Abortion is one of those places where we’re asked as humans to play god and that’s not necessarily our place.I also believe it’s the government’s palace to provide a path to achieve that aspiration, the American dream, that’s an illusion to so many and shouldn’t be.”
Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, McConaughey also revealed that although he did not run this round, he may do so in the future.
In what he had been told was “a very McConaughey answer”, when asked if he would run in the future he said: “I’m not until I am”.
A Time To Kill airs tonight on BBC One at 11:50pm.
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