Brian May Hits Out At Sacha Baron Cohen Over Queen Biopic Claims

Brian May has hit out at Sacha Baron Cohen, amid claims he made about Queen’s plans for a Freddie Mercury biopic.

The ‘Borat’ actor quit the project, having previously been cast as the late frontman, recently saying the surviving members of the band wanted much of the film to focus on them instead of Freddie’s wild lifestyle.

Guitarist Brian has now had his say on the matter, telling the Daily Mail’s Event magazine: “Sacha became an arse.

“We had some nice times with Sacha kicking around ideas, but he went off and told untruths about what happened.”

He continued: "Why would he go away and say that we didn’t want to make a gritty film? Are we the kind of people who have ever ducked from the truth? I don’t think so."

"We decided he wasn’t right for the role for very good reasons, which will become apparent if you watch what he’s done recently," he said in a thinly-veiled dig at Sacha’s latest film ‘Grimsby’, which bombed at the box office.  

"It’s obvious that it wasn’t going to work, him playing Freddie. It wouldn’t suspend your disbelief. We’re hoping Ben Whishaw will do it. He’s fabulous – a real actor," he added.

Sacha quit the project in 2013, with Queen drummer Roger Taylor later stating he had been ‘let go’ because the band didn’t want the film to become ‘a joke’.

Listen to Sacha Baron Cohen talking about the Queen biopic below...