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<p>NEW YORK (AP) &#8212; Bryan Singer, the director of the Oscar-nominated &#8220;Bohemian Rhapsody,&#8221; has been accused of sexually assaulting minors in an expose published by the Atlantic.</p><p>The Atlantic on Wednesday published a lengthy article based on a 12-month investigation. It details the stories of four alleged victims who said they were seduced and molested by the &#8220;Bohemian Rhapsody&#8221; director while underage. Three of the men spoke on the condition of anonymity. Victor Valdovinos said he was molested by Singer on the set of 1998&#8217;s &#8220;Apt Pupil&#8221; when he was in the seventh grade.</p><p>The Los Angeles County District Attorney&#8217;s Office earlier investigated claims that male minors were pressured into stripping naked for a shower scene in &#8220;Apt Pupil&#8221; but declined to press charges. Lawsuits filed by families of the minors involved were settled out of court.</p><p>In a statement issued through his attorney, Singer denied the claims and called The Atlantic article a &#8220;homophobic smear piece that he said was &#8220;conveniently timed&#8221; to take advantage of the success of &#8220;Bohemian Rhapsody.&#8221;</p><p>The Freddie Mercury biopic on Tuesday was nominated for five Oscars, including best picture. Singer was dismissed as the director of &#8220;Bohemian Rhapsody&#8221; during shooting after several absences from the London production. Singer remains the sole credited director on the film even though he was replaced by Dexter Fletcher.</p><p>Singer sharply criticized The Atlantic for publishing a story that Esquire magazine had been preparing before ultimately declining to publish.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s sad that The Atlantic would stoop to this low standard of journalistic integrity,&#8221; said Singer. &#8220;Again, I am forced to reiterate that this story rehashes claims from bogus lawsuits filed by a disreputable cast of individuals willing to lie for money or attention.&#8221;</p><p>The journalists, Maximillian Potter and Alex French, defended their reporting as rigorously fact-checked in a statement issued Wednesday. Potter and French said the story was originally vetted and approved for publication at the Hearst-owned Esquire, but was &#8220;killed by Hearst executives.&#8221; A spokesperson for Hearst didn&#8217;t immediately respond to messages Wednesday.</p><p>Shortly after Singer was fired from &#8220;Bohemian Rhapsody,&#8221; Cesar Sanchez-Guzman filed a lawsuit in Seattle against Singer alleging the director raped him in 2003 when Sanchez-Guzman was 17. Singer&#8217;s attorney Andrew Brettler at the time said Singer &#8220;categorically denies these allegations and will vehemently defend this lawsuit to the very end.&#8221;</p><p>The case is still pending. Soon after it was filed, the University of Southern California&#8217;s School of Cinematic Arts removed Singer&#8217;s name from its cinema and media studies division. The school said Singer requested his name be removed until the allegations against him were resolved.</p><p>The Atlantic report alleges a pattern of predatory behavior on Singer&#8217;s part, including sex with a 15-year-old at a Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion in 1997. Singer preemptively denied the report in October when he wrote on his Instagram account that the reporters were &#8220;attempting to tarnish a career I&#8217;ve spent 25 years to build.&#8221;</p><p>Singer, the 53-year-old director of &#8220;The Usual Suspects&#8221; and &#8220;X-Men,&#8221; last fall was hired to direct a remake of the fantasy adventure &#8220;Red Sonja&#8221; for Millennium Films. A spokesperson for Millennium didn&#8217;t return requests for comment Wednesday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">FILE - This Dec. 2, 2013 file photo shows Bryan Singer at the Los Angeles premiere of &quot;The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.&quot;  Singer has been accused of sexually assaulting minors in a new expose published by the Atlantic. The Atlantic on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, published a lengthy article about four alleged victims who said they were seduced and molested by the &#x201c;Bohemian Rhapsody&#x201d; director while underage. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_122112052-1d7d1f665bdf4460ab411fac8143f489.jpg</photo0><caption0>FILE - This Dec. 2, 2013 file photo shows Bryan Singer at the Los Angeles premiere of &quot;The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.&quot;  Singer has been accused of sexually assaulting minors in a new expose published by the Atlantic. The Atlantic on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019, published a lengthy article about four alleged victims who said they were seduced and molested by the &#x201c;Bohemian Rhapsody&#x201d; director while underage. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ director faces allegations of sexual assault with minors