EXCLUSIVE: Why Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey Have Become 'Hollywood's No1 Enemies' — After Trying to Turn Texas Into 'Southern Tinseltown'
Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are now 'Hollywood's No1 Enemies' over their Texas ambitions, showbiz insiders say.
March 25 2025, Published 7:30 a.m. ET
TV's True Detective stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are crusading to turn their home state of Texas into a Hollywood South – and RadarOnline.com can reveal it's earned them a ton of enemies in the real Tinseltown, where they have already found themselves outcasts over the plan.
Sources tell us the stars, who played serial killer hunters in the hit 2014 HBO crime series, have been branded ingrates and hypocrites who are biting the hands that fed them.
The brouhaha erupted after Harrelson, 63, and McConaughey, 55, dissed Hollywood in an ad for their True to Texas movement, where they called on the legislature to create new incentives for TV and film production in the Lone Star State.
Dennis Quaid, Renée Zellweger and Billy Bob Thornton have joined the Texas film crusade.
Their humorous ad features the pair in character as their True Detective crime solvers Marty Hart and Rust Cohle talking about turning the state into the "New Hollywood" and features other diehard Texans – Billy Bob Thornton, Renée Zellweger and Dennis Quaid.
"Hollywood is a flat circle," McConoughey drawls in the video – adding: "This industry is like somebody's memory of an industry, and the memory's fading. I'm talking about a whole new hub for film and television. A renaissance. A rebirth."
Harrelson said: "A small fraction of Texas budget surplus to turn this state into the New Hollywood."
Industry insiders say Hollywood bigwigs are fuming over the actor's plans.
According to our source, California's showbiz bigwigs are fit to be tied, especially following the wildfires that left large swaths of L.A. in smoldering ruins, along with 29 people dead and thousands homeless.
"A lot of folks are asking, what were those guys thinking, releasing that campaign so close to the devastating L.A. wildfires and amid the significant shrinkage in L.A.-based production?" our insider said.
They added: "This pair should have known better, and now they can't take it back. It felt like they were kicking the local L.A. production community at a low point when it needed industry leaders to stand up for it."
Harrelson and McConaughey are reportedly avoiding Hollywood events amid the 'backlash' against their campaign.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Sources also said the pair is being considered ingrates who have turned their backs on the town where they made their fortunes, adding that's why the turncoats haven't been seen at recent industry events.
"Woody and Matthew have been conspicuously absent from red carpets during award season and that's got to be because they know they're going to catch hell the next time they show their faces," our insider said.
They added: "People are outraged. The business is hurting and the last thing the industry needs is these guys trying to lure more jobs out of Southern California."
