Sir Ian McKellen Criticizes Kevin Spacey’s ‘Distasteful’ Revelation As A Gay Man

“House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey came out as a gay man after “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexual misconduct dating back to 1986.

At the time, Rapp was only 14 years old while Spacey was 26. Spacey issued a statement on Twitter saying that he does not remember the encounter, but he offered an apology and later confessed that he is gay.

When asked about Spacey’s indiscretions, and whether Spacey deserves to act again, Sir Ian McKellen gave an indirect answer to BBC and said that everybody deserves a second chance. “You’re asking me if I believe in redemption?” he said. “Yes, I believe in redemption, of course.”

However, when pressed about Spacey’s scandals, McKellen refused to comment because “there have been many accusations that have not really been gone into” or been “understood.”

“The only thing I would say about Mr. Spacey was that he was a gay man, and he was pretending not to be,” said McKellen. “And I always thought it a bit distasteful that such a person would come to our country — where the National Theatre at the time was being run by a gay man, and the Royal Shakespeare by another — that we should have a closeted gay man at the center of British theater.”

“You get into problems, don’t you, if you lie, if you pretend,” he added.

After Rapp came forward, several crew members of “House of Cards” also came confessed that they were victimized by Spacey’s “predatory” behavior.

A former production assistant told CNN that Spacey sexually assaulted him during one of the show’s early seasons. The employee claimed that Spacey put his hands down his pants without consent while he was driving the actor to the set. Later, Spacey cornered him and touched him inappropriately.

Several private individuals also came forward with their own stories about Spacey’s inappropriate behavior, including former television news anchor Heather Unruh, who accused the actor of molesting her son.

Because of these accusations, Spacey was booted out from “House of Cards” and several other film projects, including “All the Money in the World.” He is now in rehab.