claim: Mathew McConaughey "came out of the closet" during an interview with a magazine.
origin: In May 2017, the web site Conservative Post published an article about actor Matthew McConaughey that was misleadingly titled: â€œMATTHEW McCONAUGHEY Just â€˜CAME OUT OF THE CLOSETâ€™, But Will It HURT His Career?â€ Although theÂ articleâ€™s title used the phrase â€œcame out of the closetâ€, which is commonly used to refer to individuals deciding not to conceal the fact that they areÂ gayÂ and subsequentlyÂ informing their friends, family, and potentially the public about their sexual preference, no such personal admission was included in the text. The Conservative Post was evidentlyÂ using a more generic interpretation of the term â€œout of the closetâ€ in its headline, in this case referring to somebody who has revealed a personal secret. What was his secret? The web site heavily implied that McConaugheyâ€™s big reveal is that heÂ identifies as a Christian: < Actor Matthew McConaughey speaks out in a recent interview with GQ discussing his views on marriage. McConaughey is well known for his southern charm, remarkable acting skills, and his recent address at the Oscars where he thanked God and said that his blessings in his life have come from the Almighty. > However, even this interpretation is misleading at best. In order for McConaughey to â€œcome out of the closetâ€ about his religion, it would have required the actor to have been keeping his religion a secret. This â€œrecent interviewâ€ with GQÂ was far fromÂ the first time McConaughey has talked about his faith. In 2001, he told interviewers that he was raised â€œMethodist, not southern Baptistâ€, inÂ 2008, the actor told People Magazine that he named his son Levi after a Biblical character, and when the actor won the Best Actor award at the 2014 Academy Awards he thanked God: < First off, I want to thank God, because thatâ€™s who I look up to. He has graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or of any other human hand. He has shown me that â€¦ itâ€™s a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates. In the words of the late Charlie Laughton who said, â€œWhen youâ€™ve got God youâ€™ve got a friend â€” and that friend is you.â€ > In fact, this â€œrecent interviewâ€ to which theÂ Conservative PostÂ refers was actually published in 2014.