Editing Freddie Mercury (section)

===Sexual orientation===
While some commentators said Mercury hid his sexual orientation from the public,<ref name="Januszczak_1996"/><ref name="Cain_2006" /><ref name="Landesman_2006"/> others said he was "openly [[Homosexuality|gay]]".<ref name="Fitzpatrick_2006"/><ref name="BBC_2006"/> In December 1974, when asked directly, "So how about being bent?" by the ''[[New Musical Express]]'', Mercury replied, "You're a crafty cow. Let's put it this way: there were times when I was young and green. It's a thing schoolboys go through. I've had my share of schoolboy pranks. I'm not going to elaborate further."<ref>{{cite news |first=Joe|last=Sommerlad|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/bohemian-rhapsody-oscars-2019-rami-malek-backlash-controversy-freddie-mercury-queen-a8740806.html |title=Bohemian Rhapsody: Why the Oscar-nominated Queen biopic has suffered a backlash |date=22 January 2019|access-date=7 March 2019 |work=[[The Independent]]|publisher=Independent Print Ltd.|location=London, England}}</ref> Homosexual acts between adult males over the age of 21 had been [[Sexual Offences Act 1967|decriminalised in the United Kingdom in 1967]], seven years earlier. During public events in the 1980s, Mercury often kept a distance from his partner, Jim Hutton.<ref name="Hutton_1994"/>

Mercury's flamboyant stage performances sometimes led journalists to allude to his sexuality. Dave Dickson, reviewing Queen's performance at [[Wembley Arena]] in 1984 for ''[[Kerrang!]]'', noted Mercury's "[[Camp (style)|camp]]" addresses to the audience and even described him as a "posing, pouting, posturing tart".<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.queencuttings.com/dblog/articolo.asp?articolo=310 | title= Kerrang! – UK – Queen, Wembley Arena London | work=Queen Cuttings | access-date=29 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007065922/http://www.queencuttings.com/images/80s/WembleyArena_05sept1984_rev.jpg|archive-date= 7 October 2007}}</ref> In 1992, John Marshall of ''[[Gay Times]]'' opined: "[Mercury] was a 'scene-queen,' not afraid to publicly express his gayness, but unwilling to analyse or justify his 'lifestyle'&nbsp;... It was as if Freddie Mercury was saying to the world, 'I am what I am. So what?' And that in itself for some was a statement."<ref name="Leung">{{cite book | first = Helen Hok-Sze | last = Leung| year=2009|isbn=9780774858298| title = Undercurrents: Queer Culture and Postcolonial Hong Kong | page = 88 | publisher = HBC Press}}</ref> In an article for ''[[AfterElton]]'', Robert Urban said: "Mercury did not ally himself to 'political [[Coming out|outness]],' or to [[LGBTQ]] causes."<ref name="Leung"/>

Some believe Mercury was bisexual; for example, regarding the creation of [[Celebrate Bisexuality Day]], [[Wendy Curry]] said: "We were sitting around at one of the annual bi conventions, venting and someone{{snd}}I think it was [[Gigi Raven Wilbur|Gigi]]{{snd}}said we should have a party. We all loved the great bisexual, Freddie Mercury. His birthday was in September, so why not Sept? We wanted a weekend day to ensure the most people would do something. Gigi's birthday was September 23rd. It fell on a weekend day, so, poof! We had a day."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.binetusa.org/regional/chicago/Chicago_Bi_Newsletter_CBD2013.pdf|title=Our Fence|first1=Michael C.|last1=Oboza|year=2013|website=binetusa.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224011818/http://www.binetusa.org/regional/chicago/Chicago_Bi_Newsletter_CBD2013.pdf|archive-date=24 February 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=19 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.binetusa.org/bihistory2.html|title=A Brief History of the Bisexual Movement|date=30 June 1990|website=BiNet USA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923135539/http://www.binetusa.org/bihistory2.html|archive-date=23 September 2017|url-status=dead|access-date=24 February 2018}}</ref> ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'' said in May 2018, "[[Closeted]] throughout his life, Mercury, who was bisexual, engaged in affairs with men but referred to a woman he loved in his youth, Mary Austin, as 'the love of his life,' according to the biography ''Somebody to Love: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Freddie Mercury''."<ref>{{cite web |last=Gilchrist |first=Tracy E. |url=https://www.advocate.com/film/2018/5/15/blink-and-youll-miss-freddie-mercurys-queerness-bohemian-rhapsody-teaser-trailer |title=Blink and You'll Miss Freddie Mercury's Queerness in Bohemian Rhapsody Teaser Trailer |work=The Advocate |date=15 May 2018 |access-date=30 December 2018 |archive-date=16 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016221302/https://www.advocate.com/film/2018/5/15/blink-and-youll-miss-freddie-mercurys-queerness-bohemian-rhapsody-teaser-trailer |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, according to an obituary Mercury was a "self-confessed bisexual".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/24/newsid_2546000/2546945.stm|title=1991: Giant of rock dies|date=24 November 1991|publisher=BBC|access-date=5 July 2018|language=en-GB|archive-date=30 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730110726/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/24/newsid_2546000/2546945.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-25-1991_-_The_Star_-_AIDS_Kills_The_King_of_Rock|title=Queen Interviews – Freddie Mercury – 11-25-1991 – The Star – AIDS Kills The King of Rock – Queen Archives: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Interviews, Articles, Reviews|website=queenarchives.com|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612135757/http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Freddie_Mercury_-_11-25-1991_-_The_Star_-_AIDS_Kills_The_King_of_Rock|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=5 July 2018}}</ref>

The 2018 biopic of Mercury, ''[[Bohemian Rhapsody (film)|Bohemian Rhapsody]]'', received criticism for its portrayal of Mercury's sexuality, which was described as "sterilized" and "confused", and was even accused of being "dangerous".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pride.com/movies/2018/10/24/how-bohemian-rhapsody-sterilized-freddie-mercurys-bisexuality | title=How Bohemian Rhapsody Sterilized Freddie Mercury's Bisexuality | work=Pride | first=Taylor | last=Henderson | date=24 October 2018 | access-date=24 April 2019 | archive-date=3 March 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303061111/https://www.pride.com/movies/2018/10/24/how-bohemian-rhapsody-sterilized-freddie-mercurys-bisexuality | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.indiewire.com/2018/11/bohemian-rhapsody-freddie-mercury-sexuality-confused-lgbt-gay-bi-erasure-straightwashing-1202017372/ | title= 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Doesn't Straightwash, but It's Confused About Freddie Mercury's Sexuality | work= [[Indiewire]] | first= Jude | last= Dry | date= 2 November 2018 | access-date= 24 April 2019 | archive-date= 24 April 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190424223006/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/11/bohemian-rhapsody-freddie-mercury-sexuality-confused-lgbt-gay-bi-erasure-straightwashing-1202017372/ | url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.them.us/story/bohemian-rhapsody-queer-representation| title=Bohemian Rhapsody's Queer Representation Is Downright Dangerous| work=them.| first=Naveen| last=Kumar| date=3 November 2018| access-date=24 April 2019| archive-date=24 April 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424222640/https://www.them.us/story/bohemian-rhapsody-queer-representation| url-status=live}}</ref>