--- title: People Are Calling Out Bryan Singer After the Golden Globes description: What to know about the controversy around 'Bohemian Rhapsody' director Bryan Singer and why some people are criticizing the film's awards. canonical: https://time.com/5495601/bryan-singer-bohemian-rhapsody-golden-globes-2019/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-07T16:42:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:44:50.021Z og:title: Here's Why People Are Calling Out Bohemian Rhapsody's Golden Globes Win og:description: What to know about the controversy around director Bryan Singer og:url: https://time.com/5495601/bryan-singer-bohemian-rhapsody-golden-globes-2019/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b1891ec499fab85/698942cd656a3fc1fcbd6616/bryan-singer-bohemian-rhapsody-golden-globes-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: "X-Men: Apocalypse" Tsinghua University Visit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Why People Are Calling Out Bohemian Rhapsody's Golden Globes Win twitter:description: What to know about the controversy around director Bryan Singer twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b1891ec499fab85/698942cd656a3fc1fcbd6616/bryan-singer-bohemian-rhapsody-golden-globes-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why People Are Calling Out Bryan Singer After _Bohemian Rhapsody_'s Golden Globes Win > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=59fcd155-4de4-4fc8-81af-4545372d16d8&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Bohemian Rhapsody | Official Trailer HD | 20th Century FOX [Watch (HLS stream): Bohemian Rhapsody | Official Trailer HD | 20th Century FOX](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dWjOdDPo.m3u8) (2:30)  _Published 2018-07-17. Bohemian Rhapsody | Official Trailer HD | 20th Century FOX_  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 7, 2019 4:42 PM UTC  BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 18: (CHINA OUT) American director and producer Bryan Singer attends Tsinghua campus visit for new movie "X-Men: Apocalypse" on May 18, 2016 in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images) BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 18: (CHINA OUT) American director and producer Bryan Singer attends Tsinghua campus visit for new movie "X-Men: Apocalypse" on May 18, 2016 in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images) VCG—VCG via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 7, 2019 4:42 PM UTC [_Bohemian Rhapsody_](http://time.com/5435386/bohemian-rhapsody-review/)took home top honors at the [2019 Golden Globes](http://time.com/5494459/golden-globes-winners-2019/) Sunday night, with Rami Malek winning Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama for his passionate portrayal of Freddie Mercury and the film itself winning for Best Motion Picture — Drama. _Bohemian Rhapsody’_s wins, however, raised questions for some viewers. The film’s director, Bryan Singer, is [mired in controversy](http://time.com/88234/bryan-singer-hollywood-scandal/). Singer, who was fired late in production for alleged on-set behavior but remains the credited director on the film, has a history of accusations of sexual assault that spans more than two decades. Days after his removal from _Bohemian Rhapsody_, [a lawsuit was filed against him for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old boy in 2003](http://time.com/66200/x-men-bryan-singer-teen-sex-abuse/). He has also faced [two civil suits](http://time.com/5015204/harvey-weinstein-scandal/) alleging sexual assault, one of which was dropped and one of which was dismissed. Singer has denied all allegations made against him. Malek and producer Graham King, who accepted the film’s Best Picture award, didn’t mention Singer in their acceptance speeches, and any reference to the director appeared to be intentionally avoided by the rest of _Bohemian Rhapsody_‘s cast and crew throughout the Golden Globes. _Bohemian Rhapsody_, a box office hit despite mixed reviews from critics, had not been considered a top contender for Best Picture at February’s Academy Awards. Its Best Picture win at the Golden Globes, though in no way predictive of Oscar glory, could boost its chances, inspiring Academy voters to consider it before Oscar voting closes next week and suggesting that voters may be willing to overlook Singer’s alleged history.(It’s worth noting that there is no overlap between the voting bodies for the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.) The film has also been [criticized](https://www.thedailybeast.com/bohemian-rhapsody-is-an-insult-to-freddie-mercury) for tip-toeing around Mercury’s sexuality and failing to explore it in any meaningful way. Singer, who was not present at the awards, celebrated the film’s win on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BsUtnmCn68A/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed). Below, see how several viewers on Twitter reacted to the _Bohemian Rhapsody_‘s Golden Globes: > [](https://twitter.com/bobbyfinger/status/1082129972377075713) > [](https://twitter.com/Ceilidhann/status/1081926706808700928) > [](https://twitter.com/TheFienPrint/status/1082130603183493120) > [](https://twitter.com/DPD%5F/status/1082129295777124352) > [](https://twitter.com/CraigSJ/status/1082130127289503746) > [](https://twitter.com/TheGregoryE/status/1081728716269449216) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] In a landslide. No escape from reality. [ MUSIC ] I joined the show. I also, I write songs. Our lead singer just quit. Then you'll need someone new. [ MUSIC ] I love the way you move on stage. The whole room belongs to you. Don't you see what you could be? No one will play us on the radio. We need to get experimental. Thunder bolt and lightning, very very frightening me. Galileo. Do it again. Galileo. One more. How many more Galileo's do you want? Roger there's only room in this band for one hysterical queen. Let me go. We will not let you go . >> Mark these words, no one will play Queen. Fortune favors the bold. Freddy, concerning your private life. What more do you need to know? I make music. I want to give the A song that they can perform. [ MUSIC ] What's the lyric? [ MUSIC ] Ready Freddie? Let's do it. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] You need to slow down Fred. [ MUSIC ] I just need a bit of time. [ MUSIC ] What if I don't have time? [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] You're a legend, Fred. We're all legends. 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