Ian McKellen said an iconic "Star Wars" actor discouraged him from supporting gay rights - LGBTQ Nation

"“Alec Guinness sat rather primly in my dressing room, enthusing about the play before inviting me out to supper,” McKellen said. “I stupidly declined, but a decade later was given a second chance to meet up with the great man.”"

"The two had an Italian lunch at Pimlico, where they chatted “until he brought up the real reason for his invitation,” McKellen said. Guinness reportedly mentioned McKellen's work to establish Stonewall UK. The group still advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, but at the time, was protesting ardently against Section 28 of the Local Government Act, a 1988 law enacted by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government."

"Stonewall UK was protesting ardently against Section 28 of the Local Government Act, a 1988 law enacted by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, which prohibited local authorities from “promoting” homosexuality or teaching its acceptability as a “pretended family relationship.” The law impacted schools and LGBTQ+ organizations across the U.K., and to draw attention to the law's anti-gay persecution, McKellen's partner Sean Mathias directed a one-night benefit performance of Bent with McKellen reprising his performance of the play's tragic lead character, Max."

Ian McKellen said Sir Alec Guinness visited him backstage after a 1979 performance of Martin Sherman's Bent, a drama about Nazi persecution of gay people in labor camps. McKellen described Guinness as highly respected and said they later met again for an Italian lunch where they talked until Guinness raised the real reason for the invitation. Guinness reportedly mentioned McKellen’s work with Stonewall UK, which at the time protested against Section 28 of the Local Government Act. Section 28 barred local authorities from promoting homosexuality or presenting it as an acceptable “pretended family relationship,” affecting schools and LGBTQ+ organizations. McKellen’s partner Sean Mathias directed a one-night benefit performance of Bent with McKellen reprising the lead role, Max, to draw attention to the law.

Read at LGBTQ Nation