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The Guardian Says Sir Patrick Stewart Is Gay in Ellen Page Piece, Stewart Is Amused

“At least I didn’t wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again,” actor jokes

Feb 19, 2014 09:39 GMT  ·  By
Sir Patrick Stewart is not gay, but The Guardian seems to think he is
   Sir Patrick Stewart is not gay, but The Guardian seems to think he is

In a piece talking about the importance of Ellen Page’s coming out over the weekend, during a Human Rights Campaign conference, The Guardian erroneously outed actor Sir Patrick Stewart as gay. The publication ran a retraction almost immediately, but not before Stewart’s hilarious reaction made headlines.

The actor, known for his work both in film / television and theater, but also for his involvement in a variety of LGBT causes, has a reputation of a prankster because of his wicked sense of humor. He would have probably been the last person to take offense in the oversight.

“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,” The Guardian said.

Stewart’s response came on Twitter, highlighting the importance of always seeing the full half of the glass. “Well, @guardian it makes for a nice change... at least I didn't wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again,” the actor wrote.

The publication has amended the original piece to leave out the word “gay” in reference to Stewart, but he still continued to have fun with the mishap on social media. Even William Shatner, who preceded Stewart as Captain of the Enterprise on the “Star Trek” series, tweeted him to say that he was jealous of him, because he never got this kind of attention.

“But @guardian I have, like, five or even SEVEN hetero friends and we totally drink beer and eat lots of chicken wings!” Stewart tweeted after the publication announced it had published the retraction.

Actress Ellen Page, who had been plagued by speculation on her orientation for years, came out in a beautiful and very touching speech at an HRC conference, saying she had grown “sick of lying by omission.”