Ian McKellen on what led to Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey's abuse allegations: "It's because they were in the closet"

If you were looking for a pretty troubling take on the abuse allegations against Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey, look no further than Ian McKellen. During a live recording of the #QueerAF podcast for National Student Pride 2019, the actor decided to share his insights on what he felt led to their accused behavior.

“Most of them were in the closet. Hence, all their problems as people and their relationship with other people,” McKellen said. “If they had been able to be open about themselves and their desires, they wouldn’t have started abusing people in the way they’ve been accused.”

You would think that after making the odd insinuation that gay men can be expected to just naturally turn to sexual abuse while closeted, one would simply stop while they were far behind. Instead, McKellen went on to add that whether those accused of such grotesque abuse should have to stop working is “debatable.”

“I think that’s rather up to the public,” he said. “Do you want to see someone who’s been accused of something that you don’t approve of? Do you ever want to see them again? If the answer is no, you won’t buy a ticket, you won’t turn on the television. But there may be others for whom that’s not a consideration.”

Here are some things worth considering: Both Singer and Spacey have had multiple accusers come forward, some of whom were underage at the time of their encounters. Four men spoke of Singer’s misconduct to The Atlantic, which Singer categorically denies. Spacey recently pleaded “not guilty” in his first court appearance for a felony charge for indecent assault and battery in January.

[via USA Today]