Bryan Singer, the director best known for bringing superhero franchise the X-Men to life on the big screens, has been accused of sexually assaulting teenage boys.
Some of these allegations are not new as rumours of him engaging in inappropriate relationships with younger boys have been heard around the Hollywood office watercooler for years and he has never been found guilty of any crime.
The #Timesup movement has inspired women in Hollywood as well as victims of sexual abuse to speak out against their abusers. Now, the openly gay filmmaker is another Hollywood big hitter under investigation after a 12 month report with detailed allegations by four men who say that Singer molested them when they were underage has reached the public.
The Atlantic’s in-depth investigative piece revealed details such as, one of the men, Victor Valdovinos, claims that he was masturbated by the director at the age of 13 when he worked as an extra on his film Apt Pupil. While three others, known only as Eric, Andy and Ben, say that he had sex with them when they were between the ages of 15 and 18.
Singer also faced a lawsuit filed by Cesar Sanchez-Guzan in December 2017, alleging that he raped him at the age of 17 on a yacht in 2003. There was another lawsuit in 2014 by Michael Egan, who made similar claims against Singer, but later dropped the legal action.
Singer also happens to be the director of Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie about the iconic rock band Queen and singer Freddie Mercury, from which he was fired in December 2017 because of his “unexpected unavailability”. Singer insisted that he was let go because he requested time off to deal with pressing health matters concerning his parents and not the allegations of failing to arrive or being late on set after late night “benders”.
Bohemian Rhapsody has been nominated for five Oscars this year, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Rami Malek), Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing.
Singer issued a statement reacting to The Atlantic story: “The last time 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. That didn’t stop this writer from selling it to The Atlantic. 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”.
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