Rami Malek, who portrays Freddie
Mercury in the upcoming biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, has said
that the film will feature the late singer's sexuality and battle
with AIDS.
Mercury, the flamboyant frontman for
Queen, died in 1991 from complications related to AIDS.
Bohemian Rhapsody opens in 1970,
when Mercury first teamed up with guitarist Brian May (played by
Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) to form Queen, and
ends with the band's 1985 Live Aid performance. The film arrives in
theaters November 2.
Controversy surrounded the film after
release of its first trailer, with many accusing producers of
“straight-washing” Mercury's life.
In an interview with UK LGBT glossy
Attitude, Malek, 37, denied the claim.
“It's a shame that people are making
remarks after a minute teaser where you just wanna see the music,”
Malek
said.
"It’s difficult. First, let me
say that I don’t think the film shies away from his sexuality or
his all-consuming disease, which is obviously AIDS. I don’t know
how you could avoid any of that, or if anyone would ever want to.
It’s a bit absurd that anyone’s judging this from a minute
trailer.”
“The film needed to approach it in a
delicate manner. You can’t shy away from it. It was an important
moment to have in the film, one that ultimately is very sad but also
empowering in a way. It shows you just how resilient human beings can
be and how much we rely on the strength of our friends and family to
get us through tough times.”
"This pandemic is still very much
a horrific threat to so many people in the world. It exists as a
reality for so many that I think it would be a shame not to address
it,” he added.
(Related: Adam
Lambert remembers Freddie Mercury on what would have been his 72nd
birthday.)