Yesterday Matthew McConaughey, still seemingly on a victory lap since his Oscar win three years ago, made headlines by becoming the latest in a series of high-profile artists who have decided reasonable activism in the face of a tyrannical, incompetent government is a bridge too far. “It’s time for us to embrace, shake hands with this fact and be constructive with him over the next four years,” McConaughey said, speaking with the BBC's Andrew Marr, apparently forgetting that this is how Trump shakes hands:

McConaughey's folksy, aw-shucks charm belies the tone-deafness—and privilege—of statements like these in such a desperate political climate. There is very much a difference between spiteful divisiveness and constructive, relentless vigilance. Among others who have come out to ask for "unity" are Nicole Kidman, and Azealia Banks, during her current high-profile feud with Rihanna (good luck with that one, Azealia).

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Banks trotted out a line I've seen several times elsewhere since the election when she scolded Rihanna (among many, many others) for their strong criticism of Trump and his policies. "Hoping the president fails," she said in an Instagram post she later deleted, "is like getting on an airplane and hoping the pilot crashes."

It's a wildly disingenuous analogy that warrants an eye-roll and no further analysis, but let's just go ahead anyway. A better analogy would be: You're on a plane. It's not great but it's a plane and it's in the air and no one's actively terrified. Every now and again, someone else on the plane takes over as the pilot, because being a pilot is tiring and stressful, as I understand it, having once seen the movie Flight. Anyway, this dude takes over as the pilot and it's pretty clear immediately that he doesn't know what he's doing. He's way less prepared and way more impulsive than all the other pilots the plane has had, and keeps making weird, unhinged announcements over the PA while you're trying to watch Age of Ultron. You'd say something, right? You'd maybe turn to the person next to you, or behind you, and be like, "Hey, I'm pretty alarmed about this new pilot. He's mean and keeps talking about kicking some of us out of this plane. Also I think the people in First Class just got a free round of mimosas." You might even be so concerned you call over a flight attendant, or a copilot. People you know have easier access to who have some influence over the pilot. Your representatives, if you will. At no point do you want the plane to fail, or crash. You just want to make sure you're not going insane imagining that this pilot is dangerous and cruel.


That is also a bad analogy, but I hope Azealia Banks reads it and reconsiders her words.

These celebrity pleas to support the president, no matter who that may be, are tone-deaf at best, and actively harmful at worst. Mini-lectures being yelled to us from behind the closed First Class curtain. They are a shameless hedging of bets that serve no one except people like McConaughey, who can afford to take a stance that is effectively for nothing, allow them to look reasonable, and consider their job done. It is, in reality, an act of laziness that only the extremely privileged can afford.

Matthew McConaughey's new film, Gold, is in theaters now.

Watch now: Matthew McConaughey, leading man of the year