Patrick Stewart Outed Mistakenly as Gay by The Guardian, Actor Tweets Jokes in Response
Patrick Stewart was outed by British newspaper The Guardian while they were discussing actress Ellen Page's coming out over the weekend. The "Star Trek" actor supported Page's coming out, but when one reporter discussed him, they assumed he was gay as well.
Patrick Stewart's outing came during an article Monday in The Guardian that argued that Page's coming out shouldn't be such big news. The writer, Jane Czyzselska, either wrote by accident or on purpose that Stewart was gay.
"Some gay people, such as Sir Patrick Stewart, think Page's coming out speech is newsworthy because a high-profile and surprisingly politically aware young actress has decided not to play by the rules that so many closeted Hollywood actors are advised to follow if they are to enjoy mainstream success," she wrote.
However, the 73-year-old actor isn't a homosexual: Stewart married his girlfriend Sunny Ozell last fall and the ceremony was officiated by his best friend Sir Ian McKellan, 74, who is gay.
Stewart himself addressed the mistake from his Twitter account, joking about the article.
".@Poynter But @guardian I have, like, five or even SEVEN hetero friends and we totally drink beer and eat lots of chicken wings!" the actor tweeted.
"Well, @guardian it makes for a nice change…at least I didn't wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again," Stewart added, referring to the oft-perpetrated death hoaxes he's been subjected too several times.
Stewart had supported Ellen Page, the star of "X-Men: The Last Stand who told a conference of counselors that she was gay Friday. She revealed how she was afraid of telling people her sexual orientation before.
The Guardian issued their correction to the article Monday.