People really forget that Matthew McConaughey has a long history of being politically tone-deaf, if not an undercover Republican operative. Just after the 2020 election (and about a month before the January 6th insurrection), McConaughey appeared on RUSSELL BRAND’s podcast. Matthew condemned the “illiberal left” for hurting MAGA voters’ little baby feelings. About a year later, Matthew played footsie with anti-vaxxers as he questioned the need for vaccine mandates for children. My point? Matthew McConaughey is a dumbass and no one should listen to him on anything political. Well, this week, McConaughey decided to chime in two weeks before the midterms. He encouraged people to… vote Independent.
Texas-born actor Matthew McConaughey is kicking up some heavy online backlash after he posted a social media video urging Americans to reconsider the value of voting as independents ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The Academy Award-winning celebrity shared a video arguing that independent voters deserve a stronger voice in American politics, criticizing a system that he said leaves many voters with little meaningful choice: “I’m not here today to endorse a candidate or a party,” McConaughey said in his Sunday post. “I am here endorsing two things: fairness and reality.”
McConaughey said that a small number of independent lawmakers could hold significant sway in Congress, forcing Republicans and Democrats to compromise on legislation. However, his pitch has drawn criticism online, with some social media users pushing back against his political argument for independent candidates.
“This is a ridiculous, privileged perspective from someone with nothing to lose either way,” user @__courtney__l added. “Both sides absolutely have faults but one is dragging us deeper into cruel chaos, a broken economy, abducting our neighbors off the street, enforcing violence on its own citizens, stripping women of rights, trying actively to take away this vote you’re encouraging people to utilize.”
“This message is so irresponsible right now. Do the math. Willie Nelson would not be impressed,” user Kelly Gaulrapp wrote, referencing Nelson’s endorsement of Texas State Rep. James Talarico for the U.S. Senate.
[From The San Antonio Express-News]
Some facts: in the 2016 election, tens of thousands of swing-state voters voted third-party and their votes handed the election to Donald Trump. That was the start of this rapid descent into global catastrophe – people writing in “Harambe” and people in Pennsylvania voting for g-ddamn Jill Stein. In the heat of a crucial midterm battle – especially a tricky senate race in McConaughey’s home state of Texas – it’s important to understand the stakes nationally. McConaughey is trying to both-sides the midterms because he’s either too stupid to know the difference between MAGA Republicans and Democrats, or he’s an undercover Republican operative trying to muddy the waters and ratf–k a crucial senate race.
Independent counts. https://t.co/N9MkKlBuIR
— Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) October 18, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- Washington, DIST – Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, father, and gun owner, joins White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Pictured: Matthew McConaughey BACKGRID USA 7 JUNE 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- matthew mcconaughey watching Novak Djokovic (Ser) defeated Daniil Medvedev,Image: 804476464, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Washington, DIST – Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, father, and gun owner, joins White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Pictured: Matthew McConaughey BACKGRID USA 7 JUNE 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY Legendary actor Matthew McConaughey is spotted out and about wearing a stylish black outfit and sunglasses during a day in New York City. Pictured: Matthew McConaughey BACKGRID USA 12 AUGUST 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: JosiahW / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY Legendary actor Matthew McConaughey is spotted out and about wearing a stylish black outfit and sunglasses during a day in New York City. Pictured: Matthew McConaughey BACKGRID USA 12 AUGUST 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: JosiahW / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila Alves were spotted arriving at Balthazar restaurant in New York City. The actor looked sharp in a beige button-down and black trousers, while Camila turned heads in a chic pinstripe suit layered over a black crop top and finished with tinted sunglasses. Pictured: Matthew McConaughey BACKGRID USA 12 AUGUST 2026 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
MMcC has only ever appeared to me as being for himself..
And this is a man who owns a ranch you can go to to shoot exotic animals..
Ugh ..
WTF, I didn’t know that.
About twenty years ago, he appeared to be this fun, laid back guy.
He has shown his true colors.
Also, this is clearly an attempt to get people who would never vote maga or now-disappointed maga looking for an alternative to not vote blue.
Omg I had no idea about the ranch! WTAF. I am so done with him. The nerve of him he married an immigrant and his children are part Latino. I am so disgusted.
We talk about Clooney here but MM is even worse. This is unforgivable. I won’t forget it. I will never watch another one of his films. He is being dragged online for this and rightfully so.
Come on. He’s not too stupid at this point. Just say what he is. He’s an op.
He’s not though because this is how too many people feel, sadly. My in-laws who live in Iowa have almost this exact same mentality and it is so, so frustrating. With every year that passes they become more isolated and out-of-touch, clinging to their “both sides” rhetoric. Thankfully, they’re smart enough (and not privileged enough) to vote Dem up and down the ticket because even they understand the stakes here.
I can see that. Believe me I’m surrounded by the same in GA. But saying this publicly a few weeks before an election could absolutely result in votes not going for Dems and the Republicans winning the ticket. I don’t believe he’s unaware of that.
Oh I’m sure you’re right that he knows but he just doesn’t care. Luckily, I don’t thin k MM’s sphere of political influence is large enough to overtake the blue wave fervor that Dem voters have because of this administration.
Dude has nothing to lose either way is a good way to put it, this is the wealthy’s option. I would add that it’s very naive and ignorant of him to try to “do” politic without basic politic math analysis, and outcome probability. Ignorant, halfway politics disregarding today, this minute, the now reality context in the word is KA.RA.ZY. He’s not helping. Sit down Matthew
Any self-respecting Texan with a brain and a conscience should be endorsing Talarico and the rest of the Democratic slate. Now we know why he and Woody Harrelson get a long so well. Woody is also antivaxx and spread false conspiracy theories about Covid. I’m done with both of them.
The old political term for it is rat f**king.
Putting out false, confusing information to change the outcome of the race in favor of the corrupt.
He’s probably a well paid rat f**cker.
We know what he’s doing. I hope he gets called out publicity for supporting Trump and never works again unless it’s naga. But sadly, I’m appalled by many women.
Yep. He definitely knows what he’s doing. Democrats doing really well against (literal) criminal R candidates?
“Both sides suck! Vote for independents! Keep pretending to be confused why nothing ever changes or gets better!”
Loser.
Great.
Yet another reason for me to boycott American movies in cinemas.
I still watch those that are truly made for a good purpose like raising awareness or something etc, but otherwise I’m done and I go to the cinema a lot to see movies from elsewhere now.
However, I am looking forward to seeing “Musk” in Europe, even if just to piss him off.
I hope someone he listens to reaches out to him and says ‘Dude, What are you doing? This is really NOT the time. Shut the fuck up.’
The only thing the mega rich or types like this care about is how much money they make.
Even Musk holds back sometimes because he’s afraid pissing European consumers off enough to stop buying Tesla.
So not supporting their crap while they support Trump is one way to reign them in.
I am watching no more movies with this guy (and don’t buy from quite a few companies due to their financing of Trump).
White man doing white man 💩 Anytime you see Matthew McConaughey filed under politics, it’s probably a good idea to just scroll on past. I didn’t and now my blood pressure is up. He wants us to vote independent so we’re forced to compromise with Nazis? GTFOH!
Texan here.
Yeah, MM is a Texas Good Ole’ Boy at heart. He’s slightly crunchy but in a “ranch in the exurbs of Austin” way. In a “will wear colorful expensive cowboy boots” way. My personal hunch is he thinks Talarico is too Beta and doesn’t like that he hasn’t come out swinging with a big hetero dick. I say this as straight elder Gen X centrist Democrat woman by the way.
Also, he’s just not very bright.
Matthew has never been my cup of tea, I’m glad to know that I was right all along.
SAME.
Big same. He gave an Oscar speech after winning for playing a person with AIDS and didn’t even mention people with AIDS in the speech. I think he’s trash.
He’s such an irritating poser. I can’t stand him.
Watching the reaction to this on X yesterday was somewhat befuddling and mildly amusing. Right wing extremists like the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh were basically screaming “shut up and dribble!” at him. They not only weren’t agreeing with his message, they were telling people not to listen to his message at all. Apparently, he was encroaching on their turf. Whatever he was trying to do seems to have backfired.
I will enjoy this if it backfires and depresses the R vote. That’ll be nice for a change.
That’s not what MM wants, of course, but hopefully people are sick of wealthy out-of-touch losers deciding things.
G*damnit! Now is not the time for this. Can we first dismantle the dictatorship in this country? We can revisit these issues later. PRIORITIES!!
I couldn’t agree more.
If everything that’s happening isn’t enough for people to see that this is a do or die moment (again) then we may as well kiss this democracy goodbye.
Isn’t his wife a Brazilian immigrant???
And yet he’s out there, demonstrating his rich white privilege and boosting Manchin, of all people.
You know, if he was making the point that we need more independents in the Dem party, I would agree with him. Because the Dem party brand is not a great one right now and Dems could maybe win some seats in red states with an independent who is just…normal and not a RW extremist. Even if they didn’t vote lockstep with Dems, they would hopefully oppose the most egregious moves of this administration.
But he’s not saying that. He’s saying we should have more independents in both parties as if *Independent* is a political mindset and not just a bunch of people who don’t feel like they have a home with either party for any number of reasons. And that’s the thing: independents are notoriously partisan–we’re not some monolith that sees “both sides”–quite the opposite.
I can’t believe he said this shit as a fucking Texan, knowing that the senatorial choice is between a kind-hearted pastor running on bringing decency back to our country and a freaking abusive piece of shit. Just unreal.
Ya know, I was just thinking that we never get the perspective of rich, out-of-touch white men, so I’m really glad to see he’s speaking up. Eyeroll
Another sigh of frustration from this Texan. We are RIGHT on the precipice of turning blue and MM has to go mucking it up. I loathe celebrities like this: simultaneously knowing their effect on their fans and not knowing how much of an effect they can have on things that ACTUALLY matter. He’s such a moron and can’t see how he’s being played. Boo.
Matthew should have stayed a bongo-playing naked stoner…..
He’s a closet MAGA. Not fooling anyone.
As a point of principle, we need more independents across the board, more independent-minded members of both major parties, but also, more parties — at least one or two or three more parties — that are independent of the prevailing duopoly. And that way you could get independent minded members of the major parties joining forces with genuinely alternative parties to instigate change. We need to break out of the idiotic ping pong game with the red / blue stuff. It’s terminal. When independent candidates have made a massive dent, it totally altered the calculus. Ross Perot, (another Texan), George Wallace (ick, but he put the fear of god into Nixon), McCarthy (kicked Johnson out of the Democratic primaries), most recently Bernie Sanders — blessed be Bernie — all of them rejected the partisan logic of mutual assured destruction and did some good. He may not actually be cynical. But another phrase comes to mind, “the time to teach someone how to swim is not when they’re drowning.” Maybe just vote for Talarico and call it a day. One step at a time.
When folks talk about the Democratic Party…I ask which Party has had the SCOTUS/POTUS/Senate/House during my lifetime & that Party has NEVA been the Democrats & has ALWAYS been the Republicans which is why for 58 years of my life they’ve been able to NEGATE good Democratic policies that help us ALL…while having mainstream media push the narrative that Dems are weak…yet EVERY POLICY THAT ALLOWS me to have housing Healthcare & a pension along with clean water & air & a public education is based on DEMOCRATIC POLICIES…I’m glad I have enough 🤬 sense to know what is what💔🇺🇸💔
What an utter loser. I have lost all respect for him and I was a fan. I’m a liberal from Texas and I tend to have a soft spot for Texas boys but he has gone too far.
I pray the good people of Texas who want to require sanity and decency from their state’s politicians will prevail.
Another Jackass of the highest order trying to sound intelligent and failing. How much is he being paid? I’m voting for Talarico TODAY (still sad it’s not Jasmine Crockett on the ballot but IIWII). So MM can sit all the way down and STFU. He’s always spouting some major bs about adult issues so I usually ignore him. Some celebs really should be seen and not heard, while others need to go away and stay away bc no reasonable person wants to hear their alleged “thoughts” on serious issues impacting everyday people.
Voting third party is your right. It is also selfish and cowardly. It is saying “I value feeling righteous over actually doing anything to solve the problems I see in the world – and in fact, I am willing to risk making those problems worse.” You may not like that we have a two party system, but that is the practical reality that we have to work within. Refusing to vote for the lesser of two evils functionally serves as a vote for the greater of the two.
What a jackass.