‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ dropped from GLAAD Awards after Bryan Singer faces sexual assault allegations

"Survivors of sexual assault should be put first"

Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody has been dropped from the GLAAD Awards in the wake of director Bryan Singer facing new sexual assault allegations.

Allegations of underage sex from four different men were detailed by The Atlantic yesterday following a 12-month investigation.

In a statement released to Deadline that denied the allegations, Singer said: “The last I posted about this subject, Esquire magazine was preparing to publish an article written by a homophobic journalist who has a bizarre obsession with me dating back to 1997. After careful fact-checking and, in consideration of the lack of credible sources, Esquire chose not to publish this piece of vendetta journalism.”

Despite Singer’s denial, the GLAAD Awards has confirmed that Bohemian Rhapsody’s nomination for Outstanding Film has since been withdrawn.

“Singer’s response to The Atlantic story wrongfully used ‘homophobia’ to deflect from sexual assault allegations and GLAAD urges the media and the industry at large to not gloss over the fact that survivors of sexual assault should be put first,” GLAAD confirmed in a statement.

'Bohemian Rhapsody'
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

“The team that worked so hard on Bohemian Rhapsody as well as the legacy of Freddie Mercury deserve so much more than to be tainted in this way. Bohemian Rhapsody brought the story of LGBTQ icon Freddy Mercury to audiences around the world, many of whom never saw an out and proud lead character in a film or saw the impact of HIV and AIDS in fair and accurate ways.

“The impact of the film is undeniable. We believe, however, that we must send a clear and unequivocal message to LGBTQ youth and all survivors of sexual assault that GLAAD and our community will stand with survivors and will not be silent when it comes to protecting them from those who would do them harm.

“Other films that involve Singer now or in the future should take note of the backlash to The Atlantic story and other previous allegations. The industry cannot let those who perpetuate harms against anyone – especially vulnerable young people—go unnoticed or unchecked any longer.”

The statement came on the same day that Queen guitarist Brian May launched a furious defence of Singer, before backing down.

“You need to look after your own business and stop telling me what to do. And you need to learn to respect the fact that a man or woman is innocent until proven guilty,” wrote May on Instagram.
May backed down only hours later, and claimed that his initial comment was “a result of my perception that someone was telling me what to do.”

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories