Sir Ian McKellen, a beloved fictional wizard and acting veteran, said some incredibly dumb stuff at a live podcast taping last week.
Specifically, he implied that some famous men who are accused of sexual abuse and assault may have done those things because of the pressure and secrecy of being closeted gay men.
McKellen was the guest on podcast #QueerAF, which is run by the UK’s National Student Pride. The wide-ranging discussion turned to Kevin Spacey and other Hollywood figures who have been the subject of recent reports as part of the #MeToo movement.
“With the couple of names that you’ve mentioned, people I’ve worked with, both of them were in the closet,” McKellen told guest host Evan Davis. “Hence, all their problems as people and their relationships with other people.”
“If they had been able to be open about themselves and their desires, they wouldn’t have started abusing people in the way they’ve been accused.”
There are definitely discussions to be had about the harm caused by environments and attitude that encourage (or force) even very powerful people to stay closeted.
But a quote that looks like McKellen’s drawing a direct line between not being out and choosing to abuse people is, to say the least, not great.
The podcast episode isn’t out yet, but the taping video was released on February 25, and it made a lot of people pretty angry.
Okay but suggesting being closeted was in some way a reason for this is disgusting
— Claudia Boleyn (@ClaudiaBoleyn) March 1, 2019
In response to the anger from many people in the LGBTQ+ community, McKellen issued an apology that actually takes responsibility for what he said, how he expressed it, what it implied, and who that might hurt.
2/4 My intention was to encourage the LGBT audience I was addressing, to be proud and open about their sexuality. In doing so, my point was clumsily expressed. I would never, ever trivialise or condone abuse of any kind.
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) March 2, 2019
4/4 When it comes to abuse by people in positions of power, the correct response is clear. The accusers must be heard and the accused given the opportunity to clear their names. If the accusations prove credible, the abuser’s access to power should be removed.
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) March 2, 2019
In the year 2019 there are a lot of people saying and doing wrong and bad things, and a lot of people calling for them to apologise.
The thing is, while almost all of the dumb or nasty stuff people keep saying and doing is worth apologising for, people aren’t very good at apologies.
It’s hard to acknowledge that you’ve messed up, or that you were wrong about something. (And sometimes there are also legal implications, but that’s a different story.) So a lot of apologies actually make people angrier or sadder about the initial mistake, because they’re all “Sorry you feel that way about the thing but here’s why you’re wrong about me” instead of “Sorry I did/said this thing, and here’s why I was wrong.”
While McKellen didn’t address a tasteless joke he made about hypothetical people from his past accusing him of sexual misconduct, the apology is pretty clear-cut. The next famous person who needs to issue one could take a lesson from it.