Bryan Singer gave a bizarrely long and candid interview with a TMZ cameraman on Thursday about his recent firing from the Queen biopic, just hours before news broke that he was being sued for rape.
The paparazzo caught Singer leaving Mel’s Drive-in in West Hollywood Thursday afternoon, and questioned him about the reasons behind his recent dismissal from the film starring Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury.
Singer said that the reports that he was dismissed from the project because of an impending sexual assault scandal were wrong, saying instead that he had to take time to help his sick mother.
Bryan Singer denied that he was fired from the Queen biopic on Thursday for an impending scandal, just hours before new broke that a man had sued him for rape
Singer said he wasn’t too upset to be dismissed from the film, which stars Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, because it was mostly completed
However, he later seemed to trip up on his story when pressed about why the studio didn’t give a clear cut explanation for the firing in their statement on the matter.
‘Because the reason would be in my opinion inaccurate and embarrassing,’ he said.
He added that he was ‘not worried about’ years-old molestation allegations resurfacing and keeping him from getting new jobs in the future.
But just a few hours later, news broke that a man had filed a lawsuit against Singer in Washington state, claiming the director raped him when he was just 17 years old in 2003.
Singer was strangely upbeat during the TMZ interview, saying he was fine leaving the Queen biopic since filming was pretty much completed.
He was also only had nice things to say about Dexter Fletcher, the director that’s been hired to take over the project.
‘It’s in great hands – great crew, great team and Dexter’s a great guy,’ he said.
At one point, he said he not issue with the studio for firing him, but later said he’s considering suing the studio over his dismissal.
Singer even weighed in on the scandal surrounding Kevin Spacey, who he directed in The Usual Suspects.
He said production on the film was never shut down over Space’s sexual misconduct on set, as actor Gabriel Byrne recently claimed. When asked if he would ever work with Spacey again, he said it was a ‘loaded question’.
Singer even weighed in on the scandal surrounding Kevin Spacey (pictured together in 1996), who he directed in The Usual Suspects. He said production on the film was never shut down over Spacey sexual misconduct, as actor Gabriel Byrne recently claimed
The new lawsuit against Singer, filed by alleged victim Cesar Sanchez-Guzman’s attorney, alleges that Singer was at a party, with young gay men, on tech investor Lester Waters’ yacht in Seattle in 2003.
It claims that Singer offered to take a then-17 Guzman on a tour of the yacht, but when they got to one of the rooms, the director allegedly forced the teen to the floor, shoved his crotch against Guzman’s face and demanded he perform oral sex.
Guzman goes onto say in the lawsuit, that Singer then pulled out his penis and forced it into his mouth, causing him to choke as he begged him to stop.
Singer allegedly forcibly performed oral sex on Guzman, who repeatedly told him to stop, before he anally raped him, according to the lawsuit.
The suit states that Singer later threatened Guzman, telling him he was a powerful Hollywood producer and that he could hire people to ruin his alleged victim’s reputation.
The director, who co-produced X-Men: First Class (2011), and directed two more X-Men films, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) strenuously denies all claims of misconduct
Singer is pictured with the cast of X Men at the DVD release party in 2003. Top row, L_R: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Singer. Bottom row, L_R: Hugh Jackman and James Marsden
He added that no one would believe him if he did come forward. But if he kept quiet, he would help his acting career.
Guzman, who is represented by lawyer Jeff Herman, is suing for emotional distress, mental anguish, and physical and mental pain.
However, Singer’s representative told TMZ that Herman had a history of representing false claims against the director and had even been sued for malicious prosecution.
A rep for Singer told People: ‘Bryan categorically denies these allegations and will vehemently defend this lawsuit to the very end.
‘Cesar Sanchez-Guzman apparently claims that he did not remember this alleged incident from 2003 until now. Significantly, when Sanchez-Guzman filed for bankruptcy only a few years ago, he failed to disclose this alleged claim when he was supposed to identify all of his assets, but conveniently, now that the bankruptcy court discharged all of his debts, he is able to recall the alleged events.’
Herman previously represented Michael Egan, who accused Singer and other Hollywood figures of sexual assault in 2014, only to later withdraw the claims. He was sentenced to two years in jail in connection with a fraudulent investment scheme in 2015.
The lawsuit was filed just days after Singer was fired from the upcoming Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.
He had just taken an unexpected leave of absence a few weeks before filming was set to wrap on the project, leaving Twentieth Century Fox in the lurch.
The decision to fire Singer came after the director reportedly feuded with multiple actors on the set according to The Hollywood Reporter, forcing Twentieth Century Fox to remove him from the project.
Singer is seen on the set for the Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, in November
Singer is also said to have thrown an object at star Rami Maleek at one point, who has earned a reputation as one of the most polite and affable actors in the industry. Tom Hollander even quit the film at one point due to Singer’s behavior before being convinced to return to the production.
British director Dexter Fletcher has since stepped in to finish filming.
This also follows allegations of wild partying and hedonistic behavior that have left the 52-year-old director on edge – according to a source who spoke to Radar.
The same source also alleges that the studio has dispensed with his services over fears sexual assault against claims against the director were about to resurface.
The director issued a statement attempting to clarify his sudden dismissal and blamed Fox for terminating his contracting despite him wanting to return to the US to visit a sick parent. He also hit out at Twentieth Century Fox, saying the production company was ‘unwilling to accommodate’ him in his situation.
But according to Radar, Singer regularly went on late night benders turned into crippling hangovers and threw tantrums on set that made him infuriating to work with.
‘He’s in really bad shape and went on a crazy bender over Thanksgiving, basically telling the studio to go f**k itself,’ an insider told Radar. ‘He’s been on bad behavior this entire shoot, staying out until 2 or 3a.m. every night and showing up to set completely hungover or worse.’
But according to the source, the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back,’ was when the studio asked Singer if there were ‘going to be any allegations dropping on him.’
Singer was also reportedly at odds with his star Rami Malek (above as Mercury), and threw an object at the actor when he complained to the studio about the director’s absences
Just last month, a group of students at the University of Southern California had demanded that Singer’s name be removed from the film school, complaining that they didn’t want someone ‘accused multiple times of sexual harassment, assault and pedophilia’ to be connected with their school.
‘We, the students of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, are formally requesting that Bryan Singer’s name be removed from our Division of Cinema and Media Studies,’ reads the Change.org petition started by seven students from the school.
‘It is completely unacceptable that this prestigious department within our school still carries the name of Bryan Singer, a man accused multiple times of sexual harassment, assault, and pedophilia.’
New claims against Singer also began to emerge in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal, and MeToo campaign, including allegations made one young man who said that the director touched him inappropriately over a decade ago.
The thread detailing that claim was taken off Twitter however and the user’s profile deleted, while a story on Yahoo about the allegation was taken offline.
At the same time, a tweet by Evan Rachel Wood referencing past allegations against Singer was taken off the actress’ account, much like a comment from actor Noah Galvin was removed last year from an interview in New York.
Galvin later issued an apology for his comment, stating: ‘My comments were false and unwarranted.’
Man and myth: The project, which was on schedule to complete principle photography just before the holiday, was already on shut down
The only Hollywood celebrity who has refused to back down and not been silenced it would appear is actress Jessica Chastain, who just last week shared a link to a Daily Wire article about the new allegation against Singer.
‘Let us not forget,’ wrote Chastain.
Singer deleted his own Twitter account around that time.
When asked about her decision to speak out about Singer, who is a producer on the upcoming X-Men film starring Chastain, she said to The Daily Beast: ‘Because of the timing of when I came into the industry, I decided for me – my career could go away tomorrow, and I’ll do something else, and I’ll be OK. Because I was OK before I came into this career.
‘For me, there’s a lot that I have that isn’t acting. I made a decision very early on to not work with people that I felt abused their positions, and didn’t create a healthy environment for those around them.’
She then said that Singer had nothing to do with her decision to do X-Men and that she did not work with him on the set. Chastain also made it clear that no amount of pressure or threats were going to keep her quiet.
‘I do not feel beholden to anything. I’m going to speak my mind about any injustice that I see. I’m not afraid of anything in terms of that,’ explained Chastain. ‘And I think the greatest myth that an industry can create is to make people feel like they’re easily replaceable. I’m not going to allow that into my life.’
In 1997, while shooting the film ‘Apt Pupil,’ a 14-year-old boy filed a lawsuit claiming that he and other minors were asked to strip naked while filming a shower scene in the picture, which was directed by Singer.
Guzman, who is represented by lawyer Jeff Herman, is suing for emotional distress, mental anguish, and physical and mental pain – the same layer who represented Michael Egan (pictured with him in 2014)
Two more teens would come forward to support his claim, but the suit was ultimately dismissed for insufficient evidence.
Michael Egan claimed in his 2014 lawsuit that he began being sexually abused when he was 14 or 15 after moving to Los Angeles with his family to start his acting career.
It was in LA that he was introduced to Hollywood powerplayer Marc Collins-Rector and his lover Chad Shackley when he was invited to a party at Collins-Rector’s home.
These parties allegedly ‘featured sexual contact between adult males and the many teenage boys,’ according to Egan, but he maintains he ‘never freely’ consented to the advances.
It was two or three months after Collins-Rector began allegedly abusing Egan that he was introduced to Singer at one of the parties he claimed in his lawsuit.
Egan said he was in the pool, and nude, when Collins-Rector approached him and ordered him out to hug Singer, who allegedly grabbed his bare buttocks.
He claimed Singer later said he was ‘sexy’ and went on to masturbate the underage boy and perform oral sex on him. The director then told Egan to do the same to him, but he says he resisted.
Singer denied these allegations, claiming they were ‘outrageous, vicious, and completely false.’
Egan ultimately withdrew his lawsuit after turning down a $100,000 settlement from Singer with an option to re-file at any time.
He also accused Gary Goddard of sexual assault in that lawsuit, the same man who actor Anthony Edwards accused of molesting him as a child just last month.
There have also been a number of people who have come to Singer’s defense, including his friend Robert Meyer Burnett.
‘Bryan has never hidden who he is. His appetites, predilections, his tastes are well-known to anyone who’s spent any time with him. Like all of us, he certainly has his eccentricities, foibles and shortcomings, which are known by everyone familiar with him. Certainly, there are those who don’t agree or approve of his choices, or how he choses to publicly lead his life. Which is true of just about every human on the planet,’ wrote Burnett in a Facebook post.
‘But I can honestly say Bryan isn’t a rapist, pedophile or physical abuser. Causing ongoing Mental Anguish? Well, most certainly, but that comes with being the special kind of crazy person a multi-national corporation will entrust with 200 million dollars of their money.’
Burnett then went after the students at USC for starting their petition.
‘That’s why seeing USC students, a University I once attended, take out a petition to remove Bryan’s name from the program he endowed with FIVE MILLION DOLLARS of his own money, based on unproven allegations, rumors, innuendo, homophobia, insane jealousy, specious lawsuits resulting in nothing, and just plain spite, is disappointing in the extreme,’ wrote Burnett.
‘I was there at USC for the ceremony where Bryan bequeathed such an extraordinary gift to the school, and I think it was probably one of the single proudest moments of his life. To see such an accomplishment tarnished is simply heartbreaking.’
Singer launched his career with The Usual Suspects and later earned raves for his work in the first two X Men films, though he followed that up with a number of underwhelming flops, including Superman Returns and Jack the Giant Slayer.
He previously went missing during the shooting of X Men: Apocalypse in 2015 and Superman in 2005.