Leave it to Ian McKellen to spill some tea and get the Internet buzzing. The beloved man may be known best as an actor, but the British star has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community for just as long. And, in a recent chat with Time Out, McKellen let the world know what he thinks about that Fantastic Beasts controversy about Dumbledore.
Spoiler: McKellen is as unsurprised as he is disappointed by the whole ordeal.
For those of you needing a bit of context, the drama regarding Fantastic Beasts dates back to an interview done in January. Fans rose up with director David Yates told Entertainment Weekly that Albus Dumbledore's queer sexuality wouldn't be brought up in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
"Not explicitly," Yates said. "But I think all the fans are aware of that. He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each other's ideas, and ideology and each other."
Unsurprisingly, this comment caused a furor as fans shared their disappointment with the censorship, and things only got worse when author J.K. Rowling dismissed the whole ordeal. As for McKellen, it doesn't seem he follows the franchise too closely, but he told Time Out he's not too surprised to see a Hollywood blockbuster sweep Dumbledore's sexuality under the proverbial cauldron.
"That's a pity," the actor said when told about the character's erased sexuality.
"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. Gods and Monsters [1998], I think, was the beginning of Hollywood admitting that there were gay people knocking around, even though half of Hollywood is gay."
Oof. It's hard to miss the edge on that comment. McKellen definitely knows how to craft a finely worded burn, and he isn't afraid to shade franchises even if they're as big as Harry Potter.
Despite the Fantastic Beast controversy having quieted down, this new interview seems to have reignited the Potterhead community as many are coming to back McKellen's position. As you can see in the slides below, fans are applauding the British actor for his concise take on the series' controversial decision, and many would like to know just how McKellen made the tea he spilled so dang hot.
Do you agree with what McKellen had to say about the ordeal? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!