Sir Ian McKellen made headlines recently after his interview with The Guardian. During his interview, the X-Men star recalled the late actor, Alec Guinness, for his advice on gay rights. As revealed by McKellen, Alec Guinness advised him to withdraw his support for gay rights.
Sir Ian McKellen said that the late actor invited him for an Italian lunch and discussed his thoughts on gay rights, as he was aware of Ian’s involvement in co-founding the organization, Stonewall.
Stonewall is the group that was formed to protect the rights of the UK’s gays and lesbians. Sir Ian McKellen formed the gay rights organization Stonewall in 1989.
In his latest interview, McKellen said:
“He took me for an Italian lunch in Pimlico, where we chatted about this and that until he brought up the real reason for his invitation. He had heard about my work to establish Stonewall – a lobby group to present to the government and the world at large the case for treating U.K. lesbians and gays equally under the law with the rest of the population.”
Ian went on to say that Alec Guinness pleaded him to stay away from gay rights and political affairs as an actor. Ian added:
“He thought it somewhat unseemly for an actor to dabble in public or political affairs and advised me, sort of pleaded with me, to withdraw. Advice from an older generation, which I didn’t follow.”
Ian McKellen voiced support for LGBTQ+ community in his new interview
In his interview, the Lord Of The Rings actor showed support for those who remain in the closet and publicly can’t accept themselves. Ian said:
“I have never met anybody who came out who regretted it,” McKellen said. “I feel sorry for any famous person who feels they can’t come out. Being in the closet is silly — there’s no need for it. Don’t listen to your advisers, listen to your heart. Listen to your gay friends who know better. Come out. Get into the sunshine.”
Ian came out as gay in 1988 during a radio interview on the BBC when he was 48 years old.
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Edited by Shatakshi Gupta