Half of Hollywood is gay, says Ian McKellan, who was denied roles because of his sexual orientation

“(Hollywood) 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,” Ian McKellen said.

Veteran actor Ian McKellen has attacked Hollywood’s timidity in depicting minorities on screen. The 78-year-old actor, famous for his roles in the Lord of the Rings X-Men series, is openly gay and has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ rights.

Ian McKellan kisses his X-Men co-star Patrick Stewart during a red carpet appearance in 2015.

In an interview with Time Out, McKellen was asked about the controversy surrounding the decision not to show the young Dumbledore as “explicitly gay” in the upcoming 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,” McKellen replied.

Ian McKellan has played two pop-culture icons, Magneto and Gandalf, on the big screen.

The actor credited 1998 film Gods and Monsters, in which he starred as director James Whale, as being the “beginning of Hollywood admitting that there were gay people knocking around, even though half of Hollywood is gay.”

Recounting a story of when he auditioned for Harold Pinter’s 1983 film Betrayal, McKellen said producer Sam Speigel 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.

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