Matthew McConaughey says the US is ‘going through puberty’ and ‘we are babies’ in 4 July message

Actor Matthew McConaughey has baffled people with a bizarre speech on social media to celebrate independence day in the United States.

In his speech, the Hollywood actor, famous for his roles in The Dallas Buyers Club and Dazed and Confused, said that America was a country “going through puberty”.

He posted the two-and-a-half-minute clip on his Twitter and began the video saying: “Happy birthday America”.

In the clip, captioned “happy 245th birthday America - lets rock”, McConaughey suggested that, compared to other countries, America is still relatively young.

He said: “As we celebrate our independence today, as we celebrate our birth as a nation, the day that kick-started a revolution to gain our sovereignty, let’s admit that this last year, this trip around the sun, was also another head-scratcher.”

McConaughey appeared to make reference to the social, political and medical turmoil that has been occurring in the country.

He continued: “But let’s also remember that we’re babies as a country. We’re basically going through puberty in comparison to other countries’ timelines, and we’re going to go through growing pains.

“We are going through growing pains. This is not an excuse, this is just the reality, and this is good, because we got to keep learning, we got to keep maturing, we gotta keep striving, we gotta keep climbing, we gotta keep building.

“And we gotta make sure we maintain hope along the way, as we continue to evolve.”

People online were confused by his use of the words “growing pains” as a euphemism for insidious and serious issues in the country’s past and present.

Journalist Alexis Oatman replied: “By ‘growing pains’ do you mean racism Matthew?”

Another Twitter user wrote: “I’m so happy my murdered and stolen indigenous ancestors could play a role in a colonizing nation’s ‘growing pains’.”

One person said: “Not another rich white man telling me things.”

McConaughey has previously floated the idea of running for governor of Texas in 2022, so this clip may be part of the start of his political career.