LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury in the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” recently spoke out about the film’s embattled director, Bryan Singer.
Singer was let go from the movie for apparently not showing up on the set. Since then, he has been accused of sexual crimes against minors. The allegations have followed Singer for years, beginning in 2014 when actor Michael Egan accused the director of rape but, recently, four men accused Singer of raping them when they were underage in an expose published by The Atlantic.
Malek commented on Singer at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where he was being honored. Malek was in a discussion with moderator Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter when he was asked about the allegations.
“My heart goes out to anyone who has to live through anything like what I’ve heard and what is out there,” Malek said. “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 #MeToo era that this somehow seems to exist after that, it’s a horrible thing.”
He added, “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.”
The actor, after applause, 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.”
Singer has called the accusations a smear campaign to detract from the movie, which is up for five Academy Awards.
Singer still stands to make $40 million from the movie, according to the Daily Mail.
