X2 or X2: X-Men United is one of the best mutant films of the Fox franchise. The sequel to the first X-Men film, it is based on the X-Men comics by Stan Lee. Praised for perfectly capturing the plights of mutant kind, drawing parallels to the injustice and prejudices present in real life, the film is poised by some as the perfect encapsulation of what the LGBTQ+ community goes through on a day-to-day basis.
However, when an X2 star made the same claims in a recent interview, fans did not react well and went on to berate him and others for drawing such conclusions. Even Stan Lee’s own words prove the actor is somewhat misinformed to make such a claim.
X2 Actor Comes Under Fire for Claiming It The Queerest Film of All
Alan Cumming, aka the actor who portrayed the mutant Nightcrawler in Fox’s X-Men franchise, recently chatted with Entertainment Weekly about his most iconic performances of all time. A BAFTA Award winner, with several acclaimed accolades to his name, the actor is openly bisexual. Often times he has spoken about queerness and being part of the LGBTQ+ community and fans have come to support and applaud him.
However, when he claimed X2: X-Men United is the queerest movie he has ever been in, fans were not happy.
X2 is the queerest film I’ve ever been in and that’s me saying that. It’s an allegory of queerness, queer director, lots of queer actors in it.
While his statement was more of his personal opinion rather than a general claim made while he was talking about his many iconic roles, the movie is based on the comics by Stan Lee. And the Marvel God actually based the X-Men on the monumental Civil Rights Movement in the USA (via The Guardian), which makes Alan Cumming’s statement not only wrong but also disrespectful to a certain degree.
Fans Berate X2 Star Alan Cumming For His Queer Comments
![Alan Cummings [Credit: The Traitors | Peacock]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/23030911/alan.jpg)
And so while it was monumental and continues to serve as an inspiration across the world for its fight against discrimination, injustice, and prejudices, fans did not like it when Alan Cumming expressed his personal opinion of X2 being the queerest film he has ever been.
View this post on Instagram
As soon as his comments went viral, certain people agreed with him, but others did not like his comparisons and went on to berate him for being allegedly insensitive.
Reach far enough and anything can mean anything. -@wandering_flame_
Don’t nobody want to accept people who force their ideals onto the world. Y’all do that stuff somewhere else and stop forcing people to play along if they don’t want to. -@cam.jr._
X-man was inspired by the civil rights movement. Stop trying to co-op the X-man for one group of people. Stan Lee said the X-men were meant to give a representation to all people who face discrimination just because they are different. -@tonymagnifico
You ruined xman. You hijacked my childhood comic and cartoon. Make your own gf movie and comic. Stan Lee didn’t want this bs. -@jamszzz3
Everything has got to be about them… all the time… or it’s oppression. @rising_sons_
Dumbest thing I ever heard. Really sick and tired of gay folks trying to hijack civil rights movement and make it gay. -@jaredbraggs_3
As Alan Cumming’s comments kickstart yet another war across the internet, it is vital to remember that a film filled with themes of injustice, denial, prejudice, and discrimination can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. With Cumming’s comments being a personal opinion, it is wrong to berate the star for his perspective of a movie he starred in.
X2: X-Men United can be streamed on Disney+.
