Ian McKellen Didn't Go Onstage With Taylor Swift Because He 'Had Something Else to Do'

In July, Patrick Stewart tweeted about reciting the lyrics of “Blank Space” and “Bad Blood” on NPR with his best friend, Ian McKellen. “May we join the squad?” he asked her.

Taylor responded as enthusiastically as one would expect, and referred to them as “the ULTIMATE squad goals.” But despite that exchange, Ian McKellen recently revealed that he turned down the opportunity to join the VMA winner onstage at a recent performance because something suddenly came up.

She did ask me to appear with Patrick Stewart at her show in LA, but I had something else to do that night.

(Here’s the part where I remind you all that the 1989 tour had five nights of performances in LA.) But even though McKellen wasn’t welcomed to the stage in front of thousands of screaming fans, there’s comfort in knowing they’re still great friends…Right? When asked how it felt “to be part of Taylor’s squad,” he responded:

I’m not. When I was living in Peter Jackson’s apartment in New York, Taylor Swift bought it while I was there and I was thrown out before I wanted to leave! That hardly puts me in Taylor Swift’s team, does it? You look shocked.

Oops! There go my eyes! They popped right out and now they’re rolling away. Far far away.