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Matthew McConaughey opens up in new memoir about being sexually assaulted at 18

Matthew McConaughey at Carnegie Hall on 29 February 2020 in New York City (Noam Galai/Getty Images for HISTORY/Getty)
Matthew McConaughey at Carnegie Hall on 29 February 2020 in New York City (Noam Galai/Getty Images for HISTORY/Getty)

Matthew McConaughey has revealed he was sexually assaulted at the age of 18.

The actor discloses the experience in his new memoir Greenlights, published on Tuesday.

“I’ve earned a few scars getting through this rodeo of humanity,” he writes before listing recollections from his past, including “I got whipped until my butt bled for putting on a Cracker Jack tattoo when I was ten” and “The only thing I ever knew I wanted to be was a father.”

One of the items reads: “I was molested by a man when I was eighteen while knocked unconscious in the back of a van.”

The actor also writes: “I was blackmailed into having sex for the first time when I was fifteen. I was certain I was going to hell for the premarital sex. Today, I am merely certain that I hope that’s not the case.”

In Greenlights, McConaughey reflects both on his personal life and career, sharing the insights (referred to as greenlights) he has acquired along the way.

Other topics discussed in the book include the actor’s 1999 arrest as well as his father’s death in 1992.

Watch: Matthew McConaughey talks navigating his career in new memoir