We can now add the BAFTAs to the list of things that have had Bryan Singer's name scrubbed off of them
Faster than you can say “a series of allegations of sexual assault that were rumored in Hollywood for years, then crystallized in a bombshell exposé in The Atlantic last month”—which is to say, not that fast, but hey, at least they got there—Britain’s BAFTA Film Awards have officially removed Bryan Singer’s name from their various nominations for the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. Per THR, The British Academy Of Film And Television Arts issued a statement about the decision today, noting that, “In light of recent very serious allegations, BAFTA has informed Bryan Singer that his nomination for Bohemian Rhapsody has been suspended, effective immediately.”
This particular decision is part of a long series of incidents of Bryan Singer’s name being taken off of things; even before the Atlantic story published in January, Singer had already been sued on multiple occasions by people alleging that he had sexually assaulted them, and has had his name taken off of everything from the FX show Legion to a USC film school. (To be fair, Singer requested that last one himself.)
Unsurprisingly, the movie’s producers at Fox—who previously fired Singer from the movie after he began exhibiting erratic behavior, and replaced him with director Dexter Fletcher with 3 weeks of filming left to go—were all for the BAFTAs’ decision, which leaves producer Graham King and writer Anthony McCarten’s names on the movie’s nomination for “Outstanding British Film”. The film is nominated for a total of seven BAFTA awards, generally seen as the U.K. equivalent of the U.S.’s Oscars. Speaking of: The film has five nominations for the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, none of which officially carry Singer’s name.