Matthew McConaughey Donates Attendance Fee At Aussie Event To Texas School Shooting Victims

Matthew McConaughey has made a heartfelt gesture in the wake of the devastating mass school shooting at Robb Elementary in the US.

The Texan actor has donated his appearance fee from the Australasian Real Estate Conference (AREC) in Australia to the families of the victims of the shooting.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports that the A-list star, who is from Uvalde, briefly spoke about the tragedy via satellite link over the weekend.

“We’ve got specific challenges down here with what happened in my hometown,” he said.

“I won’t go into details, but we’ve got some things to deal with...discussions that have to be had.”

AREC MC and leading Australian real estate figure Tom Panos also confirmed that the actor’s fee would be directed towards ‘families that have been impacted by that tragedy’.

Shortly after the attack, the Dallas Buyers Club actor took to his Instagram to pen an emotional tribute to the victims and their families. 

In his post, McConaughey urged the country to not ‘accept these tragic realities as the status quo’ while demanding gun law reform.

He wrote: “As you all are aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my home town of Uvalde, Texas.

"Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us.”

He continued: “The true call to action is now for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror, and ask ourselves, 'What is it that we truly value? How do we repeat the problem?

"What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to pressure a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?”

The actor also added there are no words to comprehend the tragic loss of the victims' parents and that urgent action needs to be taken.

People reports that the 52-year-old actor met with Republican representative Tony Gonzales of Texas’s 23rd district at the Uvalde Civic Center on Friday (May 27) after speaking with families of the victims. 

Mr Gonzales shared photos of the actor meeting with community members on Twitter while writing: "Thank you Matthew for helping to heal our community.

"Your visit brought so many smiling faces to Uvalde. See you soon my friend.”

The Interstellar actor was raised in Uvalde, where his mother, Kay McCabe, taught at St. Philip's Episcopal School, about a mile away (1.6 km) from Robb Elementary, according to People.