Patrick Stewart laughs off being mistakenly outed by the Guardian
For the record, Patrick Stewart is not gay. He actually married girlfriend Sunny Ozell in a ceremony last fall that was officiated by good friend Ian McKellen.
But the U.K's Guardian mistakenly outed the 73-year-old Stewart on Monday after he praised actress Ellen Page for coming out over the weekend.
In a piece about Page going public, columnist Jane Czyzselska wrote: "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."
Stewart had a little fun with the snafu in a series of tweets, one of which referred to hanging out with "LGBT" people. Possibly a reference to McKellen, 74, who's openly gay?
.@Poynter But @guardian I have, like, five or even SEVEN hetero friends and we totally drink beer and eat lots of chicken wings!
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) February 18, 2014
Well, @guardian it makes for a nice change...at least I didn't wake up to the internet telling me I was dead again.
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) February 18, 2014
MT “@Gruaig_Rua: @Poynter Silly @guardian. You can't catch gay by hanging out with #LGBT people."
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) February 18, 2014
The Guardian has since ran a correction notice stating: "The third paragraph originally said 'Some gay people, such as Sir Patrick Stewart, think Page's coming out speech is newsworthy.' This should have read 'Some people, such as Sir Patrick Stewart, think Page's coming out speech is newsworthy.'"