People are freaking out about a hoax article claiming Ian McKellen has died
A fake news report claiming that Sir Ian McKellen has died has gone viral.
The internet appears to have gone wild over the report, titled āBREAKING: English actor Ian McKellen dies aged 78ā.
From a fake site posing as the Daily Mail, the article claims that Sir Ian died aged 78 of cardiac arrest.
It has been shared many times with fans of the X Men star expressing sadness at the ādeathā.
The fake report quotes publicist Rose Ward saying that Sir Ian was found dead.
It reads: āThe Hobbit star, Lord of the Rings actor and X-Men Villianās body was found early Tuesday morning at a private residence in Lancashire, England, the statement continued.ā
Continuing: āHis publicist said cause of his death is probably an acute coronary event, due to natural causes. He had pre-existing medical conditions, Ward said.ā
The uproar over the āgay momentā in the recent Disney film, āBeauty and the Beastā, shows that homophobia is still prevalent, Sir Ian recently said.
The Lord Of The Rings actor told The Daily Telegraph that there is still a lot of āfear and prejudice and negativity in the worldā.
The Disney movie was censored in several countries, including Kuwait, Malaysia and Russia.
Ian McKellen, who plays Cogsworth (the clock) in the film, said Disney was ābrave enough to feature two seconds of men kissingā.
But he says that some countries censored the film on the premise that this gay kiss scene encourages homosexuality.
āThe argument being that if you show young people two men kissing, they will be so attracted to the idea that they will be turned from red-blooded heterosexuals into gay boys in that instant.ā
The actor thinks that it is important that that āwe should hear these objections and know that homophobia is alive and kicking.ā
It is the second time the 78-year old has spoken out about homophobia in the past week.
In an interview at the Variety Studio in Cannes Lions, he criticised the Trump administration for rolling back on LGBT rights.
āItās appalling and quite unnecessary and very un-American.ā
The White House has refused to acknowledge June as Pride Month.
The X Men actor also said that he would like to see more gay superheroes.
He thinks there should be a gay James Bond.
āIf you play James Bond as an outwardly camp, silly gay man that no one took seriously and then he turned out as many gay men are underneath their clothes ā buff and strong and as hetero as any hetero ā we might have a more truthful story than the one that has been told,ā he said.
Sir Ian McKellen is currently working with producers on a new series of short films aimed at LGBT youth.
It will be about and feature members of the LGBT community.
People are invited to submit their ideas.
