#dec 2014

^ 2026, Ian’s post for London Pride 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

In 1970, Sir Ian McKellen was the first man to (tenderly) kiss another man on British TV! (source + interview)

While McKellen had made his sexual orientation known to fellow actors early on in his stage career, it was not until 1988 that he came out to the general public while appearing on the BBC Radio programme Third Ear hosted by conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne talking about his campaign against Section 28!

Let me include this slay of a comeback from Ian (IM) to the interviewer (PW) back then, (tw for homomisia):

screenshot reads: PW: "No. I was talking about really rather disgusting homosexual practices, actually."

IM: "You might find them disgusting as I might find certain heterosexual practices disgusting."

The context that prompted McKellen's decision [to come out], overriding any concerns about a possible negative effect on his career, was that the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, was then under consideration in the British Parliament.  Section 28 proposed prohibiting local authorities from promoting homosexuality "... as a kind of pretended family relationship".

screenshot reads: RH: "Do you think you are pushing your luck with this campaign [against Section 28], Ian McKellen?"

IM: "No. I quite disagree. I think this country will be a healthier place if people in public life who are gay, announce that they are gay and left it at that so that the majority in society would understand that homosexuals are their friends, their supporters and a major contribution to the cultural and healthy life of this nation."

McKellen has stated that he was influenced in his decision by the advice and support of his friends.

In a 1998 interview that discusses the 29th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, McKellen commented: "I have many regrets about not having come out earlier, but one of them might be that I didn't engage myself in the politicking. [...] My own participating in that campaign [against Section 28] was a focus for people [to] take comfort that if Ian McKellen was on board for this, perhaps it would be all right for other people to be as well, gay [...]."

1992 ^

In 2003, during an appearance on Have I Got News For You, McKellen claimed when he visited Michael Howard in 1988 (then Environment Secretary, who was responsible for local government) to lobby against Section 28, Howard refused to change his position but did ask him to leave an autograph for his children. McKellen agreed, but wrote, "Fuck off, I'm gay".

McKellen is a co-founder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots.  McKellen is also patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GAY-GLOS, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG where he appears in their video "Parents Talking".

In 1994, at the closing ceremony of the Gay Games, he briefly took the stage to address the crowd, saying, "I'm Sir Ian McKellen, but you can call me Serena": This nickname, given to him by Stephen Fry, had been circulating within the gay community since McKellen's knighthood was conferred.

In 2002, he was the Celebrity Grand Marshal of the San Francisco Pride Parade and he attended the Academy Awards with his then-boyfriend, New Zealander Nick Cuthell. In 2006, McKellen spoke at the pre-launch of the 2007 LGBT History Month in the UK. 

In 2006, he became a patron of Oxford Pride, stating:

I send my love to all members of Oxford Pride, their sponsors and supporters, of which I am proud to be one ... Onlookers can be impressed by our confidence and determination to be ourselves and gay people, of whatever age, can be comforted by the occasion to take the first steps towards coming out and leaving the closet forever behind.

In 2007, he became a patron of The Albert Kennedy Trust, an organisation that provides support to young, homeless and troubled LGBT people.

McKellen has taken his activism internationally, and caused a major stir in Singapore, where he was invited to do an interview on a morning show and shocked the interviewer by asking if they could recommend him a gay bar; the programme immediately ended. 

In December 2008, he was named in Out's 🏳️‍🌈 annual Out 100 list. In 2010, McKellen extended his support for Liverpool's Homotopia festival in which a group of gay and lesbian Merseyside teenagers helped to produce an anti-homophobia campaign pack for schools and youth centres across the city.  In May 2011, he called Sergey Sobyanin, Moscow's mayor, a "coward" for refusing to allow gay parades in the city.

In 2014, he was named in the top 10 on the World Pride Power 🏳️‍🌈 list.

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in conclusion, it explains even more why Harry so openly expressed his love for Ian on 5 December 2014 at the Graham Norton show and I think it's clear why Ian gave it right back 🥹🏳️‍🌈💖

(well AND Harry was a huge Lord of The Rings trilogy fan as a kid!)

and why Louis had that fond smile about Ian saying he'd be marching at the London Pride 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ in June 2019 at the James Corden show:

Instagram story by kristincolby