Matthew McConaughey has been the toast of the town for more than a year now. The Oscar-winning actor seems to be everywhere these days, and recently he sat down for an interview with GQ where the star spoke about the controversy surrounding the Washington Redskin’s name.
When asked what he thought about the teaming being challenged to change their offensive name, McConaughey told GQ, “What interests me is how quickly it got pushed into the social consciousness. We were all fine with it since the 1930s, and all of a sudden we go, ‘No, gotta change it’? It seems like when the first levee breaks, everybody gets on board. I know a lot of Native Americans don’t have a problem with it, but they’re not going to say, ‘No, we really want the name.’ That’s not how they’re going to use their pulpit. It’s like my feeling about gun control: ‘I get it. You have the right to have guns. But look, let’s forget that right. Let’s forget the pleasure you get safely on your range, because it’s in the wrong hands in other places.'”
McConaughey continues, talking about how he has always liked the logo and that it gives him “a little fire.” He also acknowledged that “now that it’s in the court of public opinion, it’s going to change.”
“I wish it wouldn’t,” he claimed, “but it will.”
When asked how McConaughey, a native Texan, became a fan of the Dallas Cowboys’ biggest rival, McConaughey gave his standard strange and amusing response, saying “Two things. First: 4 years old, watching Westerns, I always rooted for the Indians. Second, my favorite food was hamburgers. The Redskins had a linebacker named Chris Hanburger.”
McConaughey can be seen next in Interstellar, the Christopher Nolan scence-fiction epic, which is opening in multiple formats and IMAX theaters on November 7.
[photo credit: tamaradulva]