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Matthew McConaughey Shreds Cancel Culture – Gets Accused Of Verging On ‘Alt-Right’ By Media

Oscar-winning Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey spoke out against cancel culture once again this week during a sit-down with Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.

The actor then found himself being slammed by The Daily Beast in a scathing op-ed called “Matthew McConaughey Keeps Flirting With Alt-Right Darlings.”

McConaughey Talks With Psychologist

McConaughey explained to Peterson that he wanted to go on his podcast because the psychologist inspired him to write his recent memoir “Greenlights.”

He specifically said that it was Peterson’s lectures on humility and vulnerability that inspired him to put pen to paper and finally write about his life.

“A lot of what you said gave me confidence to go, ‘I’m going to put my story on paper,'” McConaughey said.

The two men tried to avoid politics, but the topic of cancel culture came up at one point in the podcast.

Peterson gave his thoughts on Louie C.K., the comedian whose career was destroyed after five women accused him of sexual misconduct.

“If flawed people were incapable of creativity we wouldn’t have any creativity,” Peterson said, adding that he believes the comedian was “pilloried terribly.”

“Well there’s plenty of people that do unseemly things but very few of them are as masterful a comedian as Louis C.K.,” Peterson added, claiming that it is unhelpful to dismiss people simply because they are flawed.

McConaughey Attacks Cancel Culture

McConaughey agreed with this, shifting the conversation to one about cancel culture as a whole.

“Yes. Yes!” McConaughey said. “I mean, I think you’re leaning into a lot of what we call cancel culture today. You know, in the name of rehabilitation, we have to have a world in which we are able to grow and evolve, if that’s what we’re trying to do. Now… I’m not for repeat offenders or tyrants, but if someone screws up and they have sincere—they sincerely want retribution (sic), I think it’s fair to give…”

“I mean, it better be,” Peterson responded. “Because otherwise we’re all doomed.”

The Daily Beast Attacks McConaughey

Laura Bradley, an entertainment reporter for The Daily Beast, was seemingly so enraged by this simple conversation that she penned an entire op-ed blasting McConaughey for daring to speak out against cancel culture and against what the actor describes as the “illiberal left.”

On cancel culture, Bradley had this to say:

The issue with “cancel culture,” to the extent that one even exists, is not that anyone is, to borrow McConaughey’s neologism, “illegitimizing” what these guys are saying. The Jordan Petersons and Joe Rogans of the world are not, as they so often complain, being persecuted or, as McConaughey put it in his Russell Howard interview, erased. They’re simply peddling the losing ends of arguments that have already occurred countless times—perpetuating a culture war while simultaneously trying to frame themselves as its victims.

She also had a problem with McConaughey’s use of the word “illiberalism,” saying that this word “is a red herring, one that intellectually dishonest people use to bash people with whom they disagree without ever having to make an effort to understand their arguments.”

“If McConaughey, Peterson and others really want to have meaningful conversations, they might start by re-thinking this useless smear,” Bradley concluded.

This Is Why Cancel Culture Is Dangerous

It should be noted that McConaughey isn’t even an open Trump supporter. And, he has talked about the importance of supporting President-Elect Biden.

The issue at hand here is that the media has silenced so many conservative voices that we’ve come to the point where a moderate like McConaughey seems “alt-right” to them.

This is exactly what the problem with cancel culture is, and it’s likely why McConaughey is so desperate to speak out against it.

The more people that get “cancelled,” the further the line moves left as to what “cancellable” offenses really are.

If we don’t put a stop to cancel culture soon, the only people with any voices at all will be the most radically leftwing among us.

James Conrad

James Conrad’s passion for politics is only overshadowed by his longstanding interest in Hollywood. His unique perspective as a gay conservative fuels him to challenge celebrity views and those who think they have a right to tell anyone how to think or vote. James proudly wields his minority point of view to combat identity politics and cut through his typecast. Fun fact: James’ guilty pleasure is the British royal family.