Arts & Entertainment
Ian McKellen criticized for saying some actresses offer sex for roles
the actor also comments on Kevin Spacey’s coming out
(Photo via Themightyquill at Wikimedia Commons)
Ian McKellen has come under fire for comments about the sexual misconduct scandal that has hit Hollywood in recent months.
While giving a talk at Oxford Union, McKellen was asked about Harvey Weinstein by an audience member.
“Of course people taking advantage of their power is absolutely reprehensible, wherever it happens,” McKellen begins. “Within the family? Father and his children? Awful lot of that. Not, thank goodness, in my family. In the workplace? Doesn’t have to be the theater, doesn’t have to be Hollywood. It could be the local shop, it could be Parliament. It won’t do, wherever it happens.”
“People must be called out and it’s sometimes very difficult for victims to do that,” the actor continued. “And I know it’s particularly painful to some people who were abused and didn’t talk about it and never got it out of their system and feel it maybe decades later when they read about abuse in the newspaper, it all comes flooding back. And psychiatrists will tell you that their books are full of people who are hurt by revelations of other people’s experience. I hope we’re going through a period which will sort of help to eradicate it altogether.”
He recalled that while acting in the 1960s exchanging sex for roles was commonplace and “madness.”
“The director of the theatre I was working at showed me some photographs he got from women who were wanting jobs,” McKellen says. “Some of them had at the bottom of their photograph ‘DRR’ — directors’ rights respected. In other words, if you give me a job, you can have sex with me.”
His response was considered to be an insensitive comment for some who took to Twitter to slam the actor.
Sad to report Sir Ian McKellen is cancelled https://t.co/L0Ggbg7hVN
— Hayley Andersen. (@HayleyAndersen) December 19, 2017
Turning blame onto women who were most likely encouraged by their management that the only way to get roles was to sleep with a director is still shitty?
— Hayley Andersen. (@HayleyAndersen) December 19, 2017
Sir Ian McKellen doesn’t know the difference between consent, coercion and rape. He needs to shut his stupid mouth.
— Egbert Smith (@RaeRaeAnnax) December 19, 2017
McKellen, who is openly gay, also commented on Kevin Spacey choosing to come out in response to sexual misconduct allegations. For McKellen the choice was “reprehensible because it linked alleged underage sex with a declaration of sexuality.”
Watch McKellen discuss the sexual misconduct scandals below.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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