Sir Ian McKellen delivered a Shakespearean monologue supporting immigration during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
Discussing the recent unrest in the United States, with protests surrounding the use of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, the legendary actor drew parallels with modern anti-immigration views and a scene in the Elizabethan play Sir Thomas More.
“It’s all happening 400 years ago” he explained. “In London, there’s a riot happening, there’s a mob out in the streets, and they’re complaining about the presence of ‘strangers’ in London, by which they mean the recent immigrants that arrived there.”
He continued: “They’re shouting the odds and complaining, they’re saying that the immigrants should be sent back home wherever they came from. The authorities send out this young lawyer, Thomas More, to put down the riots, which he does in two ways – one by saying ‘you can’t riot like this, it’s against the law, so shut up, be quiet.’ And also, being (written) by Shakespeare, an appeal to their humanity.”
He then stands and performs Thomas More’s soliloquy, which includes lines such as: “Imagine that you see the wretched strangers, Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage, Plodding to the ports and coasts for transportation,” and “would you be pleased, to find a nation of such barbarous temper. That, breaking out in hideous violence, would not afford you an abode on earth.”
The speech, attributed to William Shakespeare, received an ovation from the studio audience, with the show’s Instagram account posting the clip with the caption: “Leave it to Shakespeare and @ianmckellen to so eloquently speak of man’s mountainish inhumanity.” You can watch the speech in full in the video above.
Many artists have voiced their opposition to The Trump Administration’s immigration policies, particularly the presence of ICE in major cities. At the recent Grammy awards, Bad Bunny made a passionate “ICE Out” speech while accepting the award for Best Musica Urbano Album.
Elsewhere, Lady Gaga paused a concert in Tokyo to condemn the actions of ICE, saying: “Lives are being destroyed right in front of us.”
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