Rami Malek has spoken out about the sexual misconduct allegations against Bohemian Rhapsody director Bryan Singer.
Allegations were recently made by four men, some of which involve claims of underage sex. These allegations appeared in The Atlantic following a 12-month investigation by the magazine.
Speaking at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Malek told The Hollywood Reporter: “My heart goes out to anyone who has to live through anything like what I’ve heard and what is out there.
“It’s awful, it’s remarkable that this happens, I can appreciate so much what they’ve been through and how difficult this must be for them. In the light of the #MeToo era that this somehow seems to exist after that, it’s a horrible thing.”
Malek then spoke about his own experiences with the director during the filming of Bohemian Rhapsody. “I’ve sat here and talked about how everyone deserves a voice and anyone who wants to talk about what happened with Bryan deserves to have their voice heard.
“In my situation with Bryan, it was not pleasant, not at all. And that’s about what I can say about it at this point.”
In a statement released to Deadline last month, Singer addressed the allegations: “The last 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.”
He continued: “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 … 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.”