THR:
"Twentieth Century Fox Film has temporarily halted production on Bohemian Rhapsody due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer," reads Fox's full statement. The crew received force majeure letters today, says one insider."
"Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Singer failed to return to set after the Thanksgiving holiday break, leaving producers nervous about the state of the production and talking about potentially replacing him."
"In a statement to the BBC, a rep for the director says his absence is due to "a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family." However, sources say that filming on the biopic has not been easy. For example, insiders tell THR that producers and his star had grown tired of Singer's behavior, which saw him routinely show up late to set. Another source has said that a cinematographer had to step in and direct during a previous "non-showing."
As Harvey Weinstein‘s day of reckoning is speeding toward him like a bullet train, what’s even more fascinating about the current purge happening in Hollywood, with one new case happening after another like a never-ending domino-split, is that stories we heard about years ago, which were eventually buried away by top-notch damage control teams, are finally making their way back into the fray and this time with a vengeance.
Right now, there’s no way you can bury any story that has to do with this topic. Take for example the case of Bryan Singer. A storm is slowly but surely brewing over the writer-director’s rumored past. It feels like it’s just around the corner and ready to explode into the zeitgeist. In fact, many are just waiting for the bomb to come down, which means he has, surely, been lawyering up, preparing for the worst and rounding up his damage control team. I mean, why wouldn’t he?
Since then, rumors have always been abounding in Hollywood about Singer, but not many “victims” would come forward. Did the “Apt Pupil” incident scare people away? It wasn’t enough to scare actor Michael Egan III whom, in April of 2014, accused Singer of sexual assault in an incident that occurred in 1999. Singer had allegedly drugged and raped Egan, who was a minor, in Hawaii and Los Angeles at the time of “Apt Pupil.” Singer denied the accusations, proclaiming them to be “outrageous, vicious, and completely false.” The suit was withdrawn by Egan, but another surfaced from a British man alleging similar behavior around the time of “Superman Returns.” Nonetheless, Singer continued making movies.
However, earlier this month, a series of tweets appeared from a man named Justin Smith, that alleged that Singer sexually assaulted him in the early aughts. The tweets have since been deleted, according to The Daily Wire, they read as follows:
I first met #BryanSinger in 2000. My boyfriend was one of his best friends, so I had many interactions with him. From the first time I met him, he was always on something. He also constantly hit on me, always asking me to show him my dick or ass. (1/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
When I’d tell my boyfriend about this, he’d say “oh Bryan just gets playful when he’s high”. But we stopped dropping by his house at my insistence.
We’d still bump into him at parties. He almost always had a “posse”. (2/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
This was always him, 2-3 older 50-70 year old men who were obviously on drugs but still wearing their dress shirts & pants (he introduced them as producers) and at least 5 to sometimes 10 young men. I should really say boys, none of them could’ve been older than 16 or 17. (3/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
They were all aspiring models/actors who were always doped up & partially naked. Bryan always made a point to tell me they were going to his place for a “private party” & asked me to come with them. I said no every time. (4/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
This same scenario happened 5 times. Every time, the cast was different. Different gross old “producers”, different harem of boys. But every time, Bryan tried to convince me to join, offering me drugs, even offering me a bit part in X Men 2. (5/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
One night, I asked him who these old men were, & he said “they have a lot of money”. I then asked who all these young guys were & he said, “does it matter?” & laughed.
And I laughed back.
Yes, I hate myself for it.
I don’t really have an excuse. (6/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
This same situation had played out so many times, & even though I knew what was happening was awful, I think part of me had resigned myself to the fact that this was Hollywood. Speaking out about this was unimaginable then. (7/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
That same night, in response to all my questions, Bryan again asked to see my dick. I said no. He then asked to feel my ass. After hesitating, I relented, thinking he’d give it a quick squeeze. Nope. (8/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
He quickly & very aggressively shoved his hand down my jeans & underwear and tried to shove his finger inside me. He had his other hand clamped on my shoulder so I couldn’t immediately move away. He penetrated me for a split second before I shoved him away (9/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
I said no, that I just wanted to go home. He said fine, but I’d better not tell anyone because no one would believe me anyway.
I absolutely believed this, so I never said anything until now.
(11/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
I never went to any of Bryan Singers “private parties”, but I guarantee the stories of the young men who say they were raped are true. I witnessed the beginning of many of these nights. I wish I would’ve loudly objected to what I saw happening. (12/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
I also wish I would’ve had the courage to speak out when he sexually assaulted me. It didn’t benefit me at all to stay silent, all it did was allow myself to become disillusioned & bitter. I hope telling this story helps. Not just me, but anyone else who’s struggling. (13/14)
— Justin Smith ️ (@Justin_C_Smith) November 1, 2017
All this has led people to talking about Singer again, who seems to be hearing some of the growing noise. Firstly, the writer-director deleted his Twitter account, and it appears that articles about his alleged sexual assaults are removed from the internet. But Reddit noticed:
It would appear that Singer’s team is starting to do damage control where they can, but his reputation does seem to already be known in the industry. Jessica Chastain retweeted the Daily Wire article with the caption “Let us not forget.” She was then asked on Twitter if she so wholeheartedly denounces Singer, why then has she decided to star in “X-Men: Dark Phoenix,” for which he is the producer. Her answer? “I didn’t realize he was involved until recently. I had no dealings with him and he wasn’t on set,” she replied.
When pressed to comment on her tweet a day later, Chastain didn’t mince words by saying exactly what was on her mind: “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 went on to add, “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. 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.”
Amidst all the chaos of Weinstein, Spacey, Toback and co., Singer’s own day of reckoning appears to be coming. People are preparing for the worst and that includes the USC School of Cinematic Arts whose students have created a petition at Change.org asking for the removal of Singer from the Division of Cinema and Media Studios. According to Deadline, “Since posting last night, the petition already counts more than 1,700 names. It is being delivered to Dean Elizabeth Daley at the USC School of Cinematic Arts as well as Akira Lippit, Vice Dean of Students.”
This isn’t the last we will likely hear about the allegations surrounding Singer, who recently wrapped production on the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” starring Rami Malek.
This is all Rothman’s idea, by the way. He’s going to pour millions into this campaign because he believes “Brand New Day” is a great movie.