Sir Ian McKellen said he yelled "Mar-a-Lago!" during a destruction scene for the upcoming Marvel film "Avengers: Doomsday," invoking President Trump's Palm Beach, Florida resort while portraying the X-Men villain Magneto.
The British actor discussed the moment in interviews with The Guardian and previously on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in February. McKellen said directors Anthony and Joel Russo approached him during a scene meant to depict the destruction of New Jersey and asked him to appear more furious.
"They told me to look more furious: make it look as if you hate what you're destroying. So I stood there and I shouted: 'Mar-a-Lago!'", McKellen told The Guardian.
During his February appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," McKellen recounted the story while demonstrating the scene, standing with arms outstretched and brow furrowed. He said the director instructed him over a loudspeaker to shout out "the worst thing you could possibly think of."
"Will I be allowed back in the country?" McKellen quipped after delivering the line.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive commentators have praised McKellen's form of political expression as celebrity activism at a time when some entertainers have faced backlash for speaking out against the Trump administration. Late-night host Stephen Colbert, who has been vocal in his criticism of President Trump, responded to McKellen's anecdote by joking about potential consequences.
"Will you be allowed back in the country? No guarantees. I don't think I'm the right person to ask for that," Colbert said during the February interview.
LGBTQ advocacy groups have noted McKellen's history of public criticism of Trump administration policies. In 2017, McKellen criticized the White House for not recognizing Pride Month and for rolling back protections for LGBTQ employees through the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order.
"It's appalling and quite unnecessary and very un-American," McKellen told Variety at the time. "The gay rights movement began in America. It began in San Francisco, it began in Stonewall."
What the Right Is Saying
Conservatives have viewed McKellen's comments as another example of Hollywood elites using their platforms for political attacks against the president. Some supporters of President Trump argue that celebrity endorsements and criticisms carry outsized influence and reflect elite disconnect from ordinary Americans.
The White House has not issued a direct response to McKellen's recent comments about filming, though administration officials have previously pushed back against high-profile entertainment industry criticism.
Defenders of the president note that Mar-a-Lago serves as a site for official meetings with foreign dignitaries and political donors, arguing that mocking it amounts to undermining U.S. leadership on the world stage.
What the Numbers Show
McKellen has been nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor: for "Gods and Monsters" in 1998 and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" in 2003, winning for the latter.
He portrayed Magneto across nine X-Men films released between 2000 and 2020. "Avengers: Doomsday" is scheduled for release in 2027.
"Avengers: Endgame," the predecessor to "Doomsday," grossed approximately $2.8 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films in cinema history.
The Bottom Line
The incident highlights ongoing tensions between Hollywood and political figures, with McKellen joining a tradition of entertainers using their platforms for political commentary. Whether his comments will have any practical effect on his ability to work in the United States remains unclear; there has been no indication from immigration authorities that he faces any restrictions. The actor's decades-long career includes extensive work in American film and theater productions.