British newspaper The Guardian is making headlines, but not for one of their hard-hitting news stories.
In one of their columns earlier this week, the paper mistakenly outed English actor Patrick Stewart as homosexual. The problem is, Stewart isn’t gay.
In fact, Stewart married girlfriend Sunny Ozell last September in a ceremony officiated by the actor’s good friend Ian McKellen, who is gay.
The Guardian piece, which focused on celebrities who have publicly supported actress Ellen Page for coming out, originally read:
“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."
But luckily for the editors over at The Guardian, Stewart made light of the snafu, responding to the incident through a series of tweets:
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
.@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
MT “@Gruaig_Rua: @Poynter Silly @guardian. You can't catch gay by hanging out with #LGBT people."
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) February 18, 2014
The paper has since run a correction notice, stating that the original article should have read, “Some people, such as Sir Patrick Stewart, think Page's coming out speech is newsworthy.”
Although he isn’t gay, Stewart has been a long-time supporter of the LGBT community and was awarded the Straight Ally Of The Year Award from PFLAG last year for his promotion of marriage equality.
“From my earliest years as an actor I have always been proud of the support the creative community gives to all forms of human and civil rights,” Stewart said while accepting the award.
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