Director of The Usual Suspects and Bohemian Rhapsody accuses magazine of ‘rehashing false accusations’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Director Bryan Singer has rebutted an as-yet-unpublished article in Esquire magazine, accusing it of being a “rehash [of] false accusations”.

In a post on Instagram, Singer – director of The Usual Suspects, X-Men, and Superman Returns – wrote: “I have known for some time that Esquire magazine may publish a negative article about me … what Esquire is attempting to do is a reckless disregard for the truth, making assumptions that are fictional and irresponsible.”

In December 2017 Singer denied accusations by Cesar Sanchez-Guzman who alleged that, as a 17-year-old in 2003, he was sexually assaulted by Singer on a yacht. In 2014, a Los Angeles court dropped a sex abuse case against Singer by an anonymous actor on the the grounds there was no legal basis for it. In a separate lawsuit, actor Michael Egan III alleged Singer had sexually abused him as a 17-year-old; Egan dropped the suit in August 2014, and his lawyer subsequently apologised to other accused figures for Egan’s “untrue and provably false allegations”.

In his post Singer added: “Incidentally, this article has been conveniently timed with the release of my film Bohemian Rhapsody. I am immensely proud of this film and everyone involved.”

In December 2017, Singer left the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, with Dexter Fletcher drafted in to complete the film. Singer will retain sole directing credit.