The acclaimed actor is here to remind you that black actors aren’t the only ones being marginalized in Hollywood.

Sir Ian McKellen isn’t shy when sharing his thoughts on the fact that this is the second year in a row in which there are only white nominees in the acting categories of the upcoming Oscars awards.

“As a representative of the industry they’re in, it’s receiving complaints which I fully sympathize with,” the actor told Sky News. “It’s not only black people who’ve been disregarded by the film industry, it used to be women, it’s certainly gay people to this day. And these are all legitimate complaints, and the Oscars are the focus of those complaints at the moment.”

The British actor is the last in a long line of thespians who have offered their sentiments on the troubling state of the Oscars including Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Spike Lee, Julie Delpy, and more.

McKellen himself has been nominated twice for Academy Awards. The first time was for his portrayal of James Whale in Gods and Monsters (1999) and then he was nominated again in 2002 for his beloved depiction of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.

The 76-year-old also pointed out that, incredibly, no openly gay person has ever won an Oscar. In fact, McKellen had speeches written for both occasions that began, “‘I’m proud to be the first openly gay man to win the Oscar,'” he told The Guardian. “I’ve had to put that back in my pocket twice.”
Ian McKellen Says Openly Gay Actors Are Also ?Disregarded? by Oscars