No, Matthew McConaughey is not throwing a fundraiser for controversial NFL player Harrison Butker

A misleading semi-viral Facebook post has led many to believe that actor Matthew McConaughey is standing behind Kansas City Chiefs football player Harrison Butker – and even hosting a fundraiser for his cause.

Cross-posted to a Facebook page called SpaceX Fanclub with a profile picture of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, an article on Esspots claimed that McConaughey “has announced his support for NFL kicker Harrison Butker by planning a high-profile fundraiser in Texas”.

“McConaughey expressed admiration for Butker’s courage to stand by his convictions even in the face of controversy, a stance that resonates deeply with the actor’s own public persona,” it continued.

Butker caused controversy after attending Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Kansas, as their commencement speaker, during which he labelled Pride month “sinful” and told the female students in attendance that the majority of them would be happiest as wives and mothers.

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolic lies told to you. Some of you may go on to lead successful careers but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said.

A petition garnering over 85,000 signatures has called for the NFL star to be axed from the Kansas City Chiefs, the same team that Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce plays for.

The alleged fundraiser was said to be held soon in Austin, Texas, and the funds would go towards charities “that work in areas Butker is passionate about, including youth sports programs, faith-based initiatives, and organisations that advocate for freedom of speech”.

The false Facebook post received over 35,000 likes, over 1,000 shares, and 2,000 comments.

The SpaceX Fanclub page states they only post satire and that “nothing on this page is real” while the post about McConaughey and Butker had a sticker at the top left of the image which read “rated satire”. Additionally, the article it linked to was tagged with “satire” too.

However, despite these supposed safeguards to show that the post was not real, the comments showed that it was highly believable: to some users at least.

Many replied to the post and thanked McConaughey for supporting Butker, claiming that “the world has gone upside down” and bemoaning the discrimination people face for believing in “old fashioned” and “Christian values”.

Others said McConaughey was “doing the right thing” and that “the world needs more men” like him and Butker.

However, some comments acknowledged that the post was satire and poked fun at the people who believed the story as well as criticising them for being “illiterate”.

Also, Kansas City did not cancel three Pearl Jam shows in defence of Harrison Butker

This fake post about Matthew McConaughey isn’t the first one that’s done the rounds since the Harrison Butker controversy began.

After Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder slammed Harrison Butker at a recent Las Vegas gig, false information appeared on X (formerly Twitter) saying that “Kansas City Cancels Three Pearl Jam Shows at Arrowhead Stadium: ‘We Stand with Harrison Butker.’” This was not true.

The user also falsely claimed that “the move will cost the band around $14 million”. A community note was quickly added to the tweet that simply clarified: “Pearl Jam had no concerts scheduled at Arrowhead Stadium or in Kansas City.”

So, no, Matthew McConaughey is not throwing a fundraiser for Butker – and in fact has not spoken out about the controversy surrounding the football player at all. And Pearl Jam haven’t had any concerts cancelled.

If you want to read some real news about Harrison Butker, you can find our archive of coverage here.