Throwback Thursday – Matthew McConaughey arrested in Austin
December 29, 2021 |
By Dani Dudek
Matthew McConaughey arrested

You MUST remember this:

Matthew McConaughey arrested playing the bongo drums naked in Austin!

In October 1999, the then up-and-coming 29-year-old actor was arrested after a Tarrytown neighbor called the police with a noise complaint.

Because of that call, Matthew McConaughey ended up spending nine hours in Travis County Jail before being released on $1,000 bond.

According to the police report, an officer looked in a window, saw MM dancing around naked and playing bongo drums, while another man clapped. As the cop approached the door, he reportedly smelled pot and decided to search the place. He found a bowl filled with marijuana stems and seeds, a bong and a pipe. It certainly sounds like a unique situation to say the least, especially when you consider the status of the actor themselves (you can read the full, oh, so amusing police report here).

The drug charges were eventually dropped, though the star did plead guilty to violating Austin’s noise ordinance. He paid a $50 fine. Matthew McConaughey arrested

According to E! Online, McConaughey said, “I don’t want to rent a place there, but it was a nice stay for a night,” in regards to the Travis County Jail.

Speaking of places, the house where the arrest happened is rather humble, don’t you think? Of course, at that time, McConaughey wasn’t the superstar he is now.

Following the incident, he moved out of the home, telling the Houston Chronicle that his nice community became a small OJ house, with strangers coming by all the time.

“I had a nice home in Tarrytown. Knew all the neighbors; kids played in the yard. Then this happened, and the Austin newspaper ran a picture of my house and the address,” Matthew McConaughey said. “My little home wasn’t a private getaway anymore.”

Our favorite UT grad returned to Austin in 2014 though, saying he wanted his children to be closer to his mother.

Well, isn’t that just the sweetest thing we ever did hear?