Bohemian Rhapsody was the surprise winner Sunday night of the Golden Globe for Best Picture in the drama category, while also winning a Best Actor award for Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury in the hit Queen biopic.
In reaction, the Human Rights Campaign, a top LGBTQ rights organization, tweeted out praise of the film after the Golden Globes concluded on Sunday night. The reaction was less than positive.
“Congratulations to the cast and crew of @ BoRhapMovie on your # GoldenGlobes win for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Bohemian Rhapsody celebrates Queen and its extraordinary lead singer and LGBTQ icon Freddie Mercury,” the tweet read.
There have been quite a few objections to the film by members of the LGBTQ community since its release back in early November. One, the film is uncommonly chaste when it comes to depicting Mercury’s love life. Two, the film declares that Mercury, who identified during his lifetime as bisexual, was gay. And most notably, the film’s credited director is Bryan Singer, who has been accused multiple times of sexually abusing young men.
“Luved much of the film but it implied he was gay yet he was bi,” Twitter user Robert Ozn wrote . “Painful issue 4 us bi peeps as we’re still misunderstood & worse-ignored as a legitimate sexuality. It’s a serious missed opportunity as its audience demographic range is gigantic.”
“Next up: The RNC gives thanks to Adam McKay for Vice,” Royce Redlegs tweeted .
“The HRC must have LOVED the Hart/DeGeneres interview, too,” Marc Andreyko said .
Congratulations to the cast and crew of @BoRhapMovie on your #GoldenGlobes win for Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Bohemian Rhapsody celebrates Queen and its extraordinary lead singer and LGBTQ icon Freddie Mercury. pic.twitter.com/6N711iA0W4
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) January 7, 2019
“Mostly directed by a pedophile, depicting a man who was most likely bisexual but is bluntly depicted to be gay, living a reckless ‘lifestyle’, and it ignores the later success of Queen,” Josh Scully wrote . “This impressed everyone, except who it was meant to.
“Are you aware of who directed this film whose crew you are congratulating?” journalist Daniel D’Addario wrote .
There were also many, many comical gifs in the original tweet’s replies.
Singer was fired from the film late in its production, in December of 2017, shortly before news broke that he had been sued by a young man who claimed he had been raped by Singer, although Singer remained the film’s credited director. Singer did not have any role in the promotion of the film, did not attend the Golden Globes, and was not mentioned from the stage during either acceptance speech, although he did congratulate the filmmakers on Instagram Monday morning.