Hollywood hypocrisy?
Official picture taken from the Golden Globes of Queen members Brian May (left) and Roger Taylor (middle) with the star of Bohemian Rhapsody Rami Malek (right) celebrating the film’s win. Fair use: Instagram
Award shows consistently stir up strong emotions in both the stars who attend and the viewers at home. This year’s 76th annual Golden Globes was no different. However, one film, in particular, has fueled much controversy for mixed messages from Hollywood.
Bohemian Rhapsody, a film about Freddie Mercury and Queen, hit theatres Nov. 2 and drew mostly positive reviews. The movie later won two Golden Globes for best performance by an actor in a motion picture for actor Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury), and best motion picture. But Bohemian Rhapsody’s former director, Bryan Singer, made headlines this past year which caused turmoil and has made people hesitant to celebrate the recent success of his movie.
Singer left Bohemian Rhapsody because he claimed he needed to tend to the failing health of one of his parents. However, sexual assault allegations against Singer were released. Cesar Sanchez-Guzman, 17, alleges he was at a yacht party in 2003 when Singer forced himself onto Sanchez-Guzman and then Singer pushed him on a bed and sexually assaulted him when Sanchez-Guzman tried to resist, according to an article from CBS News. Similar allegations of sexual assault against Singer were released in 2014, by two different actors according to an article from The Guardian.
Singer’s is the director to receive credit for Bohemian Rhapsody due to legal rules. However, Dexter Fletcher took over the role after Singer left.
This year at the Golden Globes, Hollywood’s stars took a stand against sexual assault by wearing “Times Up x2” ribbons and bracelets to commemorate the second year the Golden Globes has been a platform to address the Times Up Movement, which raises awareness of sexual assault. Stars such as Julianne Moore, Andy Samberg, Amy Adams, and more wore these black and white accessories to the event.
How is an industry that is fighting against sexual assault honoring a movie whose director is an alleged sex offender? It seems blatantly hypocritical for Hollywood to applaud the work of someone who may be a part of the problem.