Ian Mckellen says half of Hollywood is gay, was denied roles for being a homosexual
Ian McKellen, who has been the most famous openly gay star, raised his voice against Hollywood’s timidity in representing minorities on screen. Besides being an open gay, the 78-year-old veteran actor has also been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights. The actor took his chance to comment on the controversy surrounding the decision to not show young Dumbledore as ‘explicitly gay’ in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them sequel.
“Well, nobody looks to Hollywood for social commentary, do they? They only recently discovered that there were black people in the world. Hollywood has mistreated women in every possible way throughout its history. Gay men don’t exist,” said McKellen in an interview with Time Out. “Hollywood has mistreated women in every possible way throughout its history. Gay men don’t exist,” he added.
The actor who played director James Whale in 1998’s Gods and Monsters, credited the film for marking ‘the beginning of Hollywood admitting that there were gay people knocking around, even though half of Hollywood is gay’
He also narrated a story about the first time when he opened up about his sexuality to producer Sam Speigal. This was back when he auditioned for Harold Pinter’s 1993 film Betrayal and the producer asked him if he would be taking his family with him on a trip to New York.
“I said, ‘I don’t have a family, I’m gay’. I think it was the first time I came out to anyone. Well, I was out of that office in two minutes. It took Pinter 25 years to apologise for not sticking up for me,” the actor said.
McKellen, who revealed his homosexuality publically some 30 years ago in an interview with BBC Radio, recalled how he was once denied a role because he was a homosexual.
