Ian Mckellen Criticises ‘Fantastic Beasts’ for Omitting Dumbledore’s Homosexuality

Sir Ian McKellen is one of Britain’s finest thespians and is known for his decades long career which has included iconic roles from Shakespeare’s King Richard III, Marvel’s Magneto, and Tolkien’s Gandalf. McKellen has been a long time activist for LGBT+ rights and has lived openly as a gay man since the 1960’s and, as Time Out reports, he has expressed disappointment over the fact that Dumbledore’s homosexuality will not be alluded to in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts film.

The film will feature a young Dumbledore (played by Jude Law), though it has been stated that his sexuality will not be touched upon. McKellen has responded to the news saying that he’s frustrated but unsurprised.

“That’s a pity,” said McKellen when he was informed of the news. “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,” he added.

Though he was disappointed by the film’s decision to omit Dumbledore’s sexuality, McKellen believes the industry, and society as a whole, is becoming more accepting of the LGBT+ community.

“Young actors in London now have all been out for years. That’s the future. When I go to schools to talk about gay rights, the kids can’t believe it. It’s not an issue for them,” he said.

The director of Fantastic Beasts, David Yates, defended the decision not to allude to Dumbledore’s sexuality, stating that fans are already aware of Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald. “He had a very intense relationship with Grindelwald when they were young men. They fell in love with each others ideas, and ideology, and each other.”

Given that Dumbledore and Grindelwald had a relationship, some fans may be disappointed to know that romance won’t be explored. It was revealed by J.K. Rowling that Dumbledore was gay in 2007 and many fans have found it progressive to see such a major character be openly homosexual. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is set to be released later this year on November 16.