 While McKellen had made his sexual orientation known to fellow actors early on in his stage career , it was not until 1988 that he came out to the general public , in a programme on BBC Radio . The context that prompted McKellen 's decision – overriding any concerns about a possible negative effect on his career – was that the controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Bill , known simply as Section 28 , was then under consideration in the British Parliament . Section 28 proposed prohibiting local authorities from promoting homosexuality " ... as a kind of pretended family relationship " . McKellen became active in fighting the proposed law , and , during a BBC Radio 3 programme where he debated Section 28 with the conservative journalist Peregrine Worsthorne , declared himself gay . McKellen has stated that he was influenced in his decision by the advice and support of his friends , among them noted gay author Armistead Maupin . In a 1998 interview that discusses the 29th anniversary of the Stonewall riots , McKellen commented , 
