Rami Malek, the lead star of the forthcoming Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, has hit back at critics who have complained that the movie might be about to shy away from discussing frontman Freddie Mercury’s sexuality and AIDS battle.

37 year old Malek, the former star of ‘Mr. Robot’, plays the part of Mercury in the film, whose first trailers dropped earlier this year. However, some onlookers were disappointed that the trailer made no references to the singer’s bisexuality or illness - but did show Mercury in a romantic exchange with a woman.

Now, Malek has spoken out about the controversy in a new interview with Attitude magazine, saying that judging an entire film by its trailer is unfair.

Rami MalekRami Malek filming 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in November 2017

“It’s a shame that people are making remarks after a minute teaser where you just wanna see the music,” he said. “It’s difficult… First, let me say that I don’t think the film shies away from his sexuality or his all-consuming disease, which is obviously AIDS. I don’t know how you could avoid any of that, or if anyone would ever want to. It’s a bit absurd that anyone’s judging this from a minute trailer.”

“The film needed to approach it in a delicate manner. You can’t shy away from it,” Malek explained regarding the approach Bohemian Rhapsody’s makers took towards depicting the Queen singer’s illness.

Bohemian Rhapsody is at last seeing release in cinemas on October 24th, with production taking several years and seeing several changes both in the cast and behind the camera.

“It was an important moment to have in the film, one that ultimately is very sad but also empowering in a way,” Malek concluded. “It shows you just how resilient human beings can be and how much we rely on the strength of our friends and family to get us through tough times. This pandemic is still very much a horrific threat to so many people in the world. It exists as a reality for so many that I think it would be a shame not to address it.”

More: Rami Malek is the spitting image of Freddie Mercury in biopic’s first look