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‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ loses GLAAD Award nomination over Singer allegations

The media watchdog organization says it puts assault survivors first

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Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (Screenshot via YouTube)

“Bohemian Rhapsody” won’t be in the running for an Outstanding Film GLAAD Media Award following new sexual assault allegations against director Bryan Singer.

The Atlantic published an in-depth, year-long investigative piece brought to light from four new victims who allege sexual assault and misconduct against Singer when they were teenagers in the 1990s. Singer denied the allegations and decried the story as “homophobic.”

“It’s sad that The Atlantic would stoop to this low standard of journalistic integrity. Again, I am forced to reiterate that this story rehashes claims from bogus lawsuits filed by a disreputable cast of individuals willing to lie for money or attention. And it is no surprise that, with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ being an award-winning hit, this homophobic smear piece has been conveniently timed to take advantage of its success,” Singer responded.

Following all of the controversy, GLAAD chose to withdraw “Bohemian Rhapsody” from consideration.

“In light of the latest allegations against director Bryan Singer, GLAAD has made the difficult decision to remove ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ from contention for a GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Film ā€“ Wide Release category this year,” GLAAD said in a statement. “This week’s story in The Atlantic documenting unspeakable harms endured by young men and teenage boys brought to light a reality that cannot be ignored or even tacitly rewarded. Singerā€™s response to The Atlantic story wrongfully used ā€˜homophobiaā€™ 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.”

The statement continued: “The team that worked so hard on Bohemian Rhapsody as well as the legacy of Freddy 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.”

Singer was fired from the film after repeatedly not showing up to set. Dexter Fletcher was his replacement for the rest of filming. However, Singer’s name is still listed as director.

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