Patrick Stewart responds to backlash over support for bakers who refused to make 'Support Gay Marriage' cake

Sir Patrick Stewart found himself in a rare position. Last week, he was at the center of controversy for supporting a bakery in Ireland that refused to support gay marriage. Even though he has been a major support for LGBT rights, he said he still has to believe in free speech as well.

As previously reported, Stewart did an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight and was asked for his opinion on the bakery that would not write “Support Gay Marriage” on a cake.

“Because they found the words offensive. I would support their rights to say no, this is personally offensive to my beliefs, I will not do it,” Stewart said.

That, of course, sparked plenty of controversy online, which is rare for the former Star Trek: The Next Generation star. On Friday night, he took to Facebook, where he explained that he is still a strong supporter of LGBT rights, but the bakery had a right to free speech.

“In my view, this particular matter was not about discrimination, but rather personal freedoms and what constitutes them, including the freedom to object,” Stewart wrote. “Both equality and freedom of speech are fundamental rights— and this case underscores how we need to ensure one isn’t compromised in the pursuit of the other.”

He further explained that even though he does not agree with the bakers’ position, they still have a right to their beliefs. But he couldn’t stand to see his comments being twisted to assume that he was actually anti-gay marriage.

“What I cannot respect is that some have conflated my position on this single matter to assume I’m anti-equality or that I share the personal beliefs of the bakers. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be further from the truth,” he wrote. “I have long championed the rights of the LGBT community, because equality should not only be, as the people of Ireland powerfully showed the world, universally embraced, but treasured.”

image via Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com