Patrick Stewart Is Straight, FYI, In Case The Guardian Confused You
Sir Patrick Stewart is not gay, but he certainly wasn’t offended when The Guardian accidentally referred to him as a gay celebrity. The 73-year-old "Star Trek: Next Generation" and "X-Men" star congratulated Ellen Page for her coming out speech at a Las Vegas conference for LGBT teens last Friday and was then mistakenly labeled a “gay actor” by Jane Czyzselska when she wrote about celebrities who were praising the 26-year-old “Juno” actress.
"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," Czyzselska wrote.
Stewart originally tweeted: “’@EllenPage: Thank you @HRC and everyone for all the love and support. X’ And I'll chime in with mine.” The “Star Trek” legend soon caught on to the error, and took it in stride. “Well, @guardian,” he wrote, “It makes for a nice change… at least I didn’t wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again.”
Then William Shatner, another “Star Trek” alum, got in the act. “I never get that kind of coverage!” he wrote about Czyselska’s blunder, “I’m jealous.”
Stewart has been a longtime supporter of the LGBT community, has played gay roles and is best friends with gay actor Sir Ian McKellen, his "X-Men" nemesis. Last year, P Stew got the Straight Ally of the Year award from PFLAG for his promotion of marriage equality.
While the buzz about Stewart’s sexuality was still hot, he couldn’t help but add one more tweet: “But @guardian I have, like, five or even SEVEN hetero friends and we totally drink beer and eat lots of chicken wings!”
Eventually, The Guardian corrected the mistake. The editor’s correction to the article read: “This article was amended on 17 February 2014. The third paragraph originally said ‘Some gay people, such as Sir Patrick Stewart, think Page’s coming out speech is newsworthy’. This should have read ‘Some people, such as Sir Patrick Stewart, think Page’s coming out speech is newsworthy’.”
For the record, Stewart married wife Sunny Ozell in September 2013 and McKellen officiated the ceremony, E Online wrote. McKellen and Stewart are currently starring together on a Broadway double bill of Harold Pinter's "No Man's Land" and Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot."
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