'Bohemian Rhapsody' director Bryan Singer has reportedly been fired from 'Red Sonja' following allegations of child sexual abuse
- Bryan Singer has been fired from directing "Red Sonja," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- Millennium Films founder Avi Lerner fired Singer because the movie could not find a domestic distributor, THR said.
- Earlier this year, Singer was accused by multiple people of sexually assaulting them when they were young boys in an Atlantic article. He has denied it.
Bryan Singer has been fired from directing the studio Millennium Films' "Red Sonja" movie following allegations that Singer sexually abused young boys, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Millennium CEO Avi Lerner finally fired Singer because he could not find a domestic distributor for the movie, THR said. THR had reported last month that the movie was on hold, but that Singer was still attached.
Representatives for Singer and Millennium did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Red Sonja was originally created for Marvel Comics and inspired by Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard's Red Sonya. The character's comics are now published by Dynamite Entertainment. In the comics, she takes revenge on the mercenaries who killed her family and raped her.
Singer was accused by multiple people of sexually assaulting them in the late 1990s when they were young boys in an explosive Atlantic article earlier this year. One man claimed Singer molested him when he was 13 and Singer was in his 30s on the set of one of Singer's films, "Apt Pupil," and another alleged Singer had sex with him when he was 15. Singer has denied the claims.
Lerner's original statement following the Atlantic piece was met with backlash. He called the piece "agenda-driven fake news" and said he was "very comfortable" with the decision to hire Singer to direct the movie based on the box-office success of "Bohemian Rhapsody." Singer is the credited director on that movie, but was fired by the studio Fox late into production for repeatedly being absent from the set.
Lerner later walked that statement back and told THR that he signed off on it without reading it.
"I don't want to apologize," Lerner said in a statement to THR. "I just want to clarify. I think victims should be heard and this allegation should be taken very, very seriously. I just don't agree to judge by the Twitter."