Matthew McConaughey Says a 1993 Janet Jackson Hit Prompted Him to Quit Smoking Weed

In a recent “My Life In 10 Songs” interview with *Rolling Stone*, Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey explained that listening to Janet Jackson’s 1993 single “That’s the Way Love Goes” led him to stop smoking marijuana. He recalled driving to a nightclub that his friends had rented for his birthday. After his friend offered him a joint, McConaughey took a “toke in the car” that, by his own description, was unlike anything he’d smoked before. He then played the Jackson track on repeat—24 times—until the party ended and the venue emptied.

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“That’s the Way Love Goes” was released in April 1993 as the lead single from Jackson’s *Janet.* album. People reported that the track topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks, reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, and was certified double-platinum by the RIAA in 2022 for over two million units sold. The same year, McConaughey’s breakout role as David Wooderson in *Dazed and Confused* brought him wider recognition.

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During the interview, McConaughey described the shift in marijuana quality, noting that “weed started turning hydroponic” and that a single inhalation could produce “unmanageable” effects. He framed the incident as a personal turning point, stating that the song’s “cool, groovy” vibe contrasted sharply with the “hallucinatory” experience of the new-generation weed, prompting him to quit.

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• “What a cool, groovy little tune,” — Matthew McConaughey

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• “Well then it started getting this hydroponic stuff where one toke, the subplots could become unmanageable, and people would implode,” — Matthew McConaughey

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• “I listened to Janet Jackson’s ‘That’s the Way Love Goes’ 24 times in a row, and when I finally got out of the car to go into my birthday party, no one was in there, ‘cause it was over.” — Matthew McConaughey

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• “I get there, and I take the toke in the car. It was not like the weed I’d smoked before.” — Instead

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