In response, some conservatives have essentially accused him of hypocrisy because, as the argument goes, he glorifies firearm violence in movies. In response to this, some commentators have scoffed, with one calling the criticism "irrational."

Yet now none other than liberal actor, comedian, and commentator Bill Maher has struck this allegedly irrational note. While not naming or focusing on McConaughey, the Real Time host lambasted Hollywood for the woke hypocrisy of getting "on the politically correct side of every issue" — except "gun violence." What's more, there is good but mostly ignored research indicating that, yes, violence in fantasy does help breed it in reality.

The entity calling the McConaughey criticism "irrational," and also "nonsensical," is WWL Radio New Orleans. As it opined Thursday, one social media post read,

"Yeah sure but it's ok when you are shooting a movie and making lots of money to glorify gun use. I know it's just TV and not real life but still, all these years to make a difference but now?" The ultra-right network Breitbart quoted information from the Internet Movie Firearms Database to point out that McConaughey has used 19 guns in 11 movies over 25 years.

Wait — should actors be criticized for playing parts in movies and TV shows where they display violent behavior? Does an actor need to only play roles that reflect who they are in real life? When did we stop understanding the difference between fantasy and reality?