Director Bryan Singer is the subject of a new bombshell report in which four men accuse the director of sexually assaulting them when they were underage. The new allegations are just the latest in a long line of men with claims against Singer ranging from inappropriate touching to rape.
The Atlantic published a report Wednesday in which the outlet said it spoke with 50 sources over the course of a year, including the four men, who would not identify themselves for fear of repercussion. The expose notes that the victims in question were left with psychological damage, substance-abuse problems, depression and PTSD after their experience.
Representatives for Singer did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. His lawyer, Andrew B. Brettler, told The Atlantic that Singer has never been arrested or charged with any crime and that he denies “ever having sex with, or a preference for, underage men.”
One of the new accusers claimed Singer fondled him on a movie set when he was just 13 in 1997. Another claimed he was 17 when Singer had sex with him at a party at his house that same year while a third man alleged Singer had sex with him when he was just 15. A fourth man said he had sex with Singer when he was 16 after meeting the director at a series of parties the man claimed were designed to link underage boys with older men. All of the victims noted that Singer was aware of their ages at the time and was himself in his 30s.
This is not the first time that Singer has been accused of sexual misconduct with underage boys. In 2014, an aspiring model and actor named Michael Egan filed a civil suit against the director claiming Singer forced him to have sex during parties in California and Hawaii in the 1990s. Although Singer denied the allegations and the lawsuit was eventually dropped, more men started to come forward with allegations against Singer.
The Atlantic allegations come as the “X-Men” director’s work is being called into question after he was fired from the hit film “Bohemian Rhapsody” with just weeks left on production. His name remains in the film’s credits as the principal director due to the Directors Guild of America rules. “Eddie the Eagle” director Dexter Fletcher was brought in to finish directing the film after Singer reportedly vanished from the set for days, called for delays in production and became increasingly difficult to work with.
In a recent interview, the star of the Oscar-nominated film, Rami Malek, said that he was so engrossed with getting into character as Queen frontman Freddie Mercury that he was never even aware of the numerous sexual misconduct allegations against Singer.
“As far as I knew, I was considered before Bryan was even attached,” he told the Los Angeles Times Wednesday. “So I had my head down preparing for this for about a year ahead of time, and I never really looked up.”
He continued: “I didn’t know much about Bryan. I think that the allegations and things were, believe it or not, honestly something I was not aware of, and that is what it is.”
