Matthew David McConaughey on why he refrained from sharing details of his past trauma

 

American actor Matthew McConoughey wore his heart on his sleeve in his recently-released memoir Greenlights.

And while the actor shared his startling claims about going through sexual abuse during his early years, he refrained from digging too deep into the trauma while penning the book.

The True Detective star now revealed why he was hesitant is detailing the experience publicly. During an appearance on the Tamron Hall show, he said: “Ultimately, there's nothing that I feel is constructive about the details."

"I feel like those details, unless I had a really good constructive way that I saw it that could be relatable to other people, I felt like those details could have just been grabbed and reported for voyeurism," he said.

"They could've been the thing that every single show was going to go 'Read about the details of when Matthew was molested,' or 'Read about when he got blackmailed,' and that's the wrong headline,” he added.

"Was I victimized in those two situations? Sure. But that doesn't mean that I've carried on through my life the feeling of 'oh I was victimized,' or 'oh I was a victim,' or that those two unfortunate events have turned me into the man that I am or are even an excuse,” he continued.

"Those two events happened to me at 15 and 18. If they would've happened to me younger maybe I would've been more confused. When they happened to me, it was very clear to me, that they were wrong, that they were not ideal, that they were not how it's supposed to be," he said.

“So I think having that clarity means that it's probably why it didn't stick with me and confuse me later on or left me having a non-realistic view of the way the world is supposed to work,” he added.