{"id":893400,"date":"2026-10-24T20:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T20:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893400\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T20:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T20:26:13","slug":"matthew-mcconaughey-please-go-back-to-making-rom-com-movies-instead-of-promoting-centrist-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/893400\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew McConaughey: Please go back to making rom-com movies instead of promoting centrist politics."},"content":{"rendered":"

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On Sunday, actor and Texas native Matthew McConaughey, posted a six-minute video<\/a> to social media imploring people to consider voting independent in the upcoming midterm elections. With the stunningly maverick caption \u201cIndependent counts,\u201d McConaughey says that he is endorsing two things, \u201cfairness and reality,\u201d because, to him, a \u201cfair fight\u201d is \u201cnot just two fighters throwing the same punches at each other for 50 years.\u201d At some point, he states, \u201cHere\u2019s a fact: The No. 1 political identity in America today is not Republican. It is not Democrat. It is independent.\u201d For the rest of the video, McConaughey goes on to use an unsurprising number of football metaphors\u2014he refers to the percentage of House seats decided in party primaries as \u201cnot a competition\u201d but \u201cmore like a scrimmage\u201d; he compares the existing parties playing in their own \u201cend zones\u201d to independents who \u201ckeep the game between the 40s\u201d (as in yard lines) \u201cwhere most of America actually lives\u201d\u2014to uplift the independent candidacy. In his plea, he also praises former Sen. Joe Manchin\u2019s organization, the Independent Leadership Council, which really tells you all you need to know. Finally, he ends his message with some uninspired wordplay about America\u2019s foundation: \u201cAmerica\u2019s brand was never R or D, it\u2019s independence. Enjoy yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Independent counts. pic.twitter.com\/N9MkKlBuIR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) October 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

This statement earned McConaughey tsk-tsks from notable Democrats such as Hillary Clinton<\/a> and San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones<\/a>. Many of his fans also responded to the video with disapproval over McConaughey\u2019s display of cowardly both sides\u2013ing, effectively throwing his vote away to the advantage of the Republican Party. (Yes, he insists voting independent isn\u2019t a waste, but in reality where the rest of us live, we all know that\u2014to quote one of my colleagues\u2019 reactions, referencing the sitcom 30 Rock<\/a>: \u201cThat\u2019s Republican; we count those.\u201d)<\/p>\n

McConaughey is entitled to his own opinion, but frankly, I don\u2019t want to hear it. In fact, I\u2019d go so far as to say that I really don\u2019t care to hear from him again unless it\u2019s him announcing that he\u2019s gone back to where he belongs: starring in romantic comedies. (Or another Magic Mike<\/a>. I\u2019d take that, too.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long time since McConaughey has acted in a rom-com. Remember the glory days of the 2000s? The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Fool\u2019s Gold, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past\u2014McConaughey perfected portraying the handsome guy with the charming accent whom the protagonist doesn\u2019t want to like but can\u2019t help falling in love with. As far as playing the middle goes, McConaughey excelled at hitting that sweet spot five paces away from smarmy where dashing and confident lie.\u00a0Then he consciously stepped away from it all, professing that he didn\u2019t love those kinds of roles<\/a> and was seeking more challenging projects. When he came back to Hollywood with an eye turned toward dramatic roles, he ushered in the McConnaissance<\/a>, a period during which he became an Oscar-winning, top-billed actor in awards-bait-y, \u201cserious\u201d titles like Dallas Buyers Club<\/a>, The Wolf of Wall Street<\/a>, and True Detective<\/a>. In recent years, his career has quieted again, despite attempts to get projects like his Apple TV series with Woody Harrelson, Brothers, to top the charts. He might be in danger of becoming more known for playing up center-aisle politics off the screen than for anything he\u2019s doing on it.<\/p>\n

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\n Jenny G. Zhang
\n Who Should Be the Next James Bond? There\u2019s a Boring Answer\u2014and That\u2019s Why It\u2019s the Right One.
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You Can See Everything Is the Year\u2019s Most Twisted Romance
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God, what I wouldn\u2019t give to see him back in some fun, stakes-free romantic comedies. Few things compare to the high of watching him charm the world as Jennifer Lopez\u2019s client-turned-paramore, or as the man who bet at odds with Kate Hudson. In a time when the world is asking for more good theatrical romantic comedy releases<\/a>, perhaps McConaughey could be the genre\u2019s salvation. I\u2019d much prefer seeing him fall in love with a sassy lady played by Reese Witherspoon than spouting off some \u201cboth sides\u201d bullshit in a video that looks like it was recorded in the basement of a ranch.<\/p>\n

And hey, I don\u2019t want to be too mean here. I\u2019m a Black woman in America\u2014I know how upsetting it can be when your favorite athletes or celebrities get told to \u201cshut up and dribble\u201d<\/a> or keep politics out of their music, as if merely existing isn\u2019t already an obstacle course of political decision-making. But it doesn\u2019t take a whole lot of brainpower to know that fixing our two-party system isn\u2019t going to happen overnight, and it damn sure won\u2019t happen because an out-of-touch actor is caping for centrism and an obstructive asshole who voted against women\u2019s health<\/a>. If McConaughey wants to actually do something radical, how about he start by soliciting scripts with happy romantic endings? That would be all right, all right, all right with me.<\/p>\n

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