Matthew McConaughey has had a long and storied history in Hollywood. The well-respected actor opened up about his experiences in a 2020 memoir.
Greenlights is the result of over 30 years of diaries from the accomplished actor. The title refers to Matthew's belief that life is full of green, yellow, and red lights. In other words, moments that cause you to move forward, slow down, or stop.
When setting the stage for his memoir, Matthew shares the details about his life that readers need to know about him. In that, he reveals that he had experienced sexual abuse early on in his life.
Matthew gets candid about being "blackmailed" into losing his virginity. He also reveals that he was molested by a man when he was 18. Despite the shocking revelations, Matthew explained why he's never felt like a victim of his circumstances. He shares the how behind his beloved good-time personality.
Matthew McConaughey is sharing the highs and lows of his life journey with fans. The 50-year-old actor has written a memoir about the lessons he's learned from life, titled Greenlights. In sharing his guiding personal philosophy, he also makes some candid admissions.
Matthew sets the stage by giving readers a baseline of things to know about him going in. Here, he casually mentions what are arguably two of the book's biggest admissions.
"I was blackmailed into having sex for the first time when I was 15," he wrote.
"I was certain I was going to hell for the premarital sex," he continued.
"Today, I am merely certain that I hope that's not the case."
This wasn't the only incident of sexual abuse Matthew detailed, however.
"I was molested by a man when I was eighteen while knocked unconscious in the back of a van," he also revealed. He doesn't revisit either situation, simply letting those admissions be. As he explains, he never felt particularly victimized in these things happening to him.
"I've never felt like a victim," he noted.
"I have a lot of proof that the world is conspiring to make me happy."
That said, in an interview with The Cut, he explained that he was sad about how he lost his virginity.
"There wasn't anything pretty about it. There wasn't anything beautiful about it. I wasn't nervous for the right reasons," Matthew explained.
Of the molestation, he noted it was a very brief incident and said, "It could have been something that may have really scarred me."
In the interview, Matthew explained he didn't experience long-term affects of either event. He said that he never "needed or pursued" help. He handled it himself when he "rearranged" his thoughts so that they wouldn't be defining ones.
Another story that makes the list of foundational ones is his infamous 1999 naked arrest. As he explains it, he was enjoying a solo celebration after his alma mater's team, the Texas Longhorns, won a big game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
"It was time to smoke a bowl and listen to the beautiful African melodic beats of Henri Dikongué play through my home speakers. It was time to stand over my drum set and follow the rhythm of the blues before they got to Memphis, on my favorite Afro-Cuban drum. It was time for a jam session," he wrote of the incident.
"What I didn't know was that while I was banging away in my bliss, two Austin policemen also thought it was time to barge into my house unannounced, wrestle me to the ground with nightsticks, handcuff me and pin me to the floor," he continued.
"'Ohhh, looky who we got here,' the 'roided-up cop with a crew cut, who looked like a Nebraska Cornhusker himself, said as he read the driver's license he picked up off my coffee table.
"Then he picked up the bong. 'And looky what we got here. Mr. McConaughey, you are under arrest for disturbing the peace, possession of marijuana, and resisting arrest,' he proudly stated while squatting atop me, knee in my back."
Matthew didn't react in the way one might have expected. He cursed the cops out for entering his home without his consent.
They wanted him to get dressed, and he refused. Then they wanted to cover him with a blanket, which he also vehemently refused.
"'Ohhhh no!' I barked. 'I'm not putting [expletive] on! My naked [expletive] is proof I was mindin' my own business!'"
In the aftermath, both Matthew and the cops could agree things got a little out of hand. Matthew detailed how the court date went down.
"Judge, we all agree that this situation got out of hand very quickly, but you also gotta understand that these policemen literally broke into this man's house while he was playing some bongos in his birthday suit!" his attorney, Joe Turner, told the judge.
"The resisting arrest was self-defense! I suggest you dismiss it altogether and my client will plead to the class C violation of a sound ordinance as he was indeed bangin' on those bongos pretty damn loud for 2:36 in the morning," his attorney proposed.
The judge agreed. Matthew paid just a $50 fine.
Matthew's been on a truly wild ride in his 50 years. He considers himself a natural storyteller, and all reviews of the memoir indicate that it's true. Greenlights is now available at bookstores everywhere.
