Disclaimer: The following article discusses sexual misconduct and assault.
On Wednesday, Jan. 23, The Atlantic released an exposé titled “Nobody is Going to Believe You,” which was conducted as a result of a 12-month investigation on Bryan Singer. It seeks to expose the truth about Singer’s hidden past and share the stories of his various sexual assault victims over the last twenty years.
As a director, Bryan Singer has had tremendous success with films such as Valkyrie, Superman Returns, The Usual Suspects, four of the X-Men movies and most recently, the Oscar-nominated Bohemian Rhapsody. However, The Atlantic reveals that the last two decades have also been filled with a lot of dark secrets behind closed doors.
The Victims’ Allegations
As Singer’s alleged victims have begun speaking out against him, the accusations have ranged everywhere from seduction to rape. These individuals have all claimed that the incidents occurred when they were teenagers, most under the age of 18.
The first victim describes the encounter taking place in 1997 when he was in seventh grade and Singer was 31 years old. The victim, Victor Valdovinos, was a student at the middle school being used to film Apt Pupil, directed by Bryan Singer. According to the accusation, Singer followed Valdovinos into the bathroom. He then asked Valdovinos to be an extra in the film, which called for him to be shirtless and wrapped in a towel from the waist down.
Valdovinos recalls an incident on the set where Singer brought him to a secluded area and began to molest him. Only 13 years old at the time, Valdovinos was paralyzed with fear. Today, Valdovinos describes the encounter as one that changed his life forever. In what he considers an attempt to “prove that [he] was a man,” he got his girlfriend pregnant at 16, temporarily dropped out of high school, and endured many failed relationships, affairs, and arrests. He remembers watching the Harvey Weinstein scandal and thinking, “Me too – I was only a kid.”
In another account, a man (whose identity remains private) describes being seduced by Singer at the age of 17. He remembers attending Singer’s house parties and being seduced into bedrooms for sexual encounters that were often predatory and sometimes non-consensual. He describes Singer as a man who liked to “cross boundaries” and “ply people with alcohol and drugs and then have sex with them.”
Another victim, whose identity is also veiled, describes a sexual encounter that occurred when he was only 15 years old. He says that Singer, who was 31 at the time, was fully aware of his age. The man describes having been manipulated by Singer at a vulnerable stage in his life. He explains that he had no father figure present and felt drawn in by Singer’s success and money. The repeated sexual encounters with Singer caused his life to unravel. The man began prostituting himself, developed an addiction to meth, was expelled from school, did time in jail, and appeared in pornographic films.
The Atlantic release details these and several other allegations against Bryan Singer. The investigation ultimately portrays Singer as a deeply troubled man with an interest in vulnerable, underaged boys. Singer was described as a man in a position of power who took full advantage of these young boys at a very sensitive point in their lives. That manipulation and abuse have left many of them with lasting psychological damage such as substance abuse problems, depression, and PTSD.
What now?
In 2014, a case was brought against Bryan Singer by Michael Egan who claimed he had been sexually abused by the director at age 15. The case was eventually dismissed. Despite the known accusations, 20th Century Fox still took Singer on as the director for their upcoming film Bohemian Rhapsody.
Production on Bohemian Rhapsody began in September of 2017, the same time sources say Singer began to act out. He had allegedly been feuding with lead actor Rami Malek and threw enraged tantrums on set. These actions caused Singer to soon be fired by 20th Century Fox.
It wasn’t public knowledge at the time, but the investigation by the Atlantic has revealed that this abhorrent behavior was due in part to Singer facing legal issues yet again. In December of 2017, a man named Cesar Sanchez-Guzman filed a case against Singer for raping him when he was only 17 years old. This case, however, has been placed on hold due to Sanchez-Guzman’s issues with the IRS.
Despite the countless victims coming forward to share their stories, Bryan Singer has continued to deny all allegations against him and has yet to be arrested or charged with any crime.
On Jan. 6, Bohemian Rhapsody won “Best Motion Picture – Drama” at the Golden Globes, but Singer was not in attendance. Additionally, in light of the Atlantic investigation, Bohemian Rhapsody has been dropped from the GLAAD Media Awards.