OK, and I said that I didn't know. I wondered *why* you were asking. Why *were* you asking? As I said in my original question, boycotts are tactics used by all sorts of communities, so I wouldn't be surprised if either scenario were true. I was just interested in finding out what Freepers thought, and for some reason, I guessed I'd find more people prepared to boycott because of McKellen's views here than Tolkein's... ;^) That's not a value judgement--I haven't said that I think that boycotts in general or this type of boycott in particular are good or bad things.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who responded with their own perspectives.