In March 2019, shortly after the film «Bohemian Rhapsody» won four Oscar awards, including Best Actor for Rami Malek for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, the family of Paul Prenter, Freddie Mercury’s personal assistant and manager between 1977 and 1986, raised their voices against what they considered a malicious distortion of reality.
Prenter, portrayed by Allen Leech as a manipulative villain who seduced Mercury, alienated him from the band, and tried to prevent his participation in Live Aid, was depicted in a «hurtful and cowardly» manner, according to his brothers Gerard, Stephen, and Ray, his goddaughter Blathanaid, his sister-in-law Mary, and close friends.
The complaint, published in a Daily Mail article on March 8, 2019, claimed that the film was «a lie» designed to embellish Queen’s image, especially that of Brian May, who allegedly resented the closeness between Paul and Freddie.
Contrary to the movie, the family insisted that Prenter and Mercury were inseparable friends, not lovers, and that Paul was key in reuniting the band for the Live Aid concert in 1985. «Paul did not seduce Freddie; Freddie was already gay and they both went out together to gay clubs,» stated Gerard Prenter, denying any corruption on his brother’s part.
One of the most painful aspects for the family was the scene where Paul’s father, an Irish Catholic, supposedly preferred to see him dead rather than gay. «That’s absurd; our parents always supported him, even caring for him until his death from AIDS in 1991,» they emphasized.
Paul, originally from Belfast, was openly gay from the age of 16 and worked in radio before becoming Mercury’s personal assistant in 1977. Although they admit he sold stories to the press in 1987 out of economic necessity after being fired, they describe him as a kind and hardworking person, not the «snake» of the film.
This controversy highlighted Hollywood’s creative liberties, ignoring facts like Queen’s tour in Sun City during apartheid, which the movie omits to idealize the group. The family lamented that, with Paul dead, he could not defend himself, and accused the production of «rewriting history» to please the band’s survivors.
Despite the commercial success of «Bohemian Rhapsody,» which grossed over 900 million dollars, the Prenters’ complaint exposed how the biopic sacrificed truth for drama, leaving a bitter legacy for those who knew the real Paul.