Adam Lambert: Being out and singing with Queen could open people’s minds
Queen singer Adam Lambert has praised the band’s fans for accepting his sexuality.
Queen was fronted by rock icon Freddie Mercury before his death from AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia in 1991.
The band has performed with several singers since his death, but Lambert’s stint is the first time the band has been fronted by an out gay man.
The former American Idol star told Huffington Post: “From what I understand, it took Freddie a bit of time to come to terms with his sexuality, and once he did… he was living in a time when, as a celebrity or a rock star, it was something that was kind of off-limits.
“Maybe, for diehard fans of the band who loved Freddie, it’s a mind-opener for them, and they can go, ‘Oh yeah, now Adam is singing these songs and is open and out, and we think that’s OK because we loved Freddie so much.’
“It gives them permission to be comfortable with it, I think.
“Freddie might not have been out, but he certainly was an original. He was bold, he was risky, he got onstage and did whatever the f**k he wanted, and had a very cool approach to being an individual.
“I want to be able to exist in an entertainment community that doesn’t care one way or the other what your sexuality is,” he said. “We’re seeing the results of all the work that we’ve done, and it’s very exciting.”
Ben Whishaw last year signed on to play Freddie Mercury in a planned biopic, after Sacha Baron Cohen pulled out of the project.
Queen guitarist Brian May had claimed that Baron Cohen was replaced because he would have been “distracting” in the lead role, but reports suggested he had clashed with producers over the film’s tone.
The movie, which is backed by Queen, is set to focus on the period leading up to Live Aid in 1985 and Freddie’s famous performance, and is expected to not focus on the AIDS crisis.
