Up until now, the cast of Bohemian Rhapsody have carefully avoided the topic of Bryan Singer and the sexual assault allegations against him, but that finally changed this weekend, when star Rami Malek spoke out on the film’s fired director.
An exposé published last month by The Atlantic accused Singer of having inappropriate sexual contact with four under-aged men, with allegations dating back to the ’90s. When a reporter at the Santa Barbra International Film Festival asked Malek about the claims, he replied:
“My heart goes out to anyone who has to live through anything like what I’ve heard and what is out there. It’s awful, it’s remarkable that this happens, I can appreciate so much what they’ve been through and how difficult this must be for them. In the light of the Me Too era that this somehow seems to exist after that, it’s a horrible thing.”
Bryan Singer directed the bulk of Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, but was let go before the end of production, with the studio blaming his repeated absences from the film’s London set. Rami Malek went on to address his working relationship with the director saying:
“I’ve sat here and talked about how everyone deserves a voice and anyone who wants to talk about what happened with Bryan deserves to have their voice heard. In my situation with Bryan, it was not pleasant, not at all. And that’s about what I can say about it at this point.”
He then added:
“For anyone who is seeking any solace in all of this, Bryan Singer was fired. Bryan Singer was fired, I don’t think that was something anyone saw coming but I think that had to happen and it did.”
Bohemian Rhapsody is a contender for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year, and given the vagueness of Malek’s statements, it would seem that those involved have been carefully briefed as to what they can and cannot say about the fired director.
Bryan Singer has denied the latest round of allegations published by The Atlantic, and Rami Malek has said that he was unaware of any such accusations before agreeing to work with him.
