Following yesterday's (Jan. 23) article that alleged a 20-year history of sexual assault by director Bryan Singer against teenage boys, GLAAD, an LGBTQ media watchdog group, has said that Bohemian Rhapsody will no longer be considered for one of its Media Awards.

The organization issued a statement to Variety that began, "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 – Wide Release category this year. 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."

Singer was fired from the Queen film in December 2017 with only a few weeks of shooting remaining. Several days later, it was learned that he was being sued by someone who claimed that, in 2003, Singer forced him to perform oral sex and then raped him. He was replaced by Dexter Fletcher, although Singer was credited due to the Director's Guild of America's requirements that only one person receive credit unless they are part of a team. His name was not mentioned in the acceptance speeches when the movie won two Golden Globes last month.

The Atlantic's story, written after a year-long investigation, spoke with 50 sources and claimed he'd had sexual relations -- consensual and forced -- with boys as young as 13 going back to 1997. Singer responded by saying that it was "written by a homophobic journalist who has a bizarre obsession with me dating back to 1997" and a "homophobic smear piece ... conveniently timed to take advantage of [Bohemian Rhapsody's] success.”

GLAAD's statement continued by acknowledging Singer's denial. “Singer’s response to The Atlantic story wrongfully used ‘homophobia’ to deflect from sexual assault allegations," it read, "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 full list of nominees for the GLAAD Media Awards, which "recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and the issues that affect their lives," will be announced tomorrow (Jan. 25) at 10AM Eastern. They will be given out on March 28 in Los Angeles.

 

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