The Queen Fandom and Paul Prenter (Rant)
I know this is already very well talked about, my apologies. I just had to comment on it.
I was on Pinterest just now and stumbled across a pin with the band and Paul Prenter in the background. A lot of people in the comments were acting like he was a fucking disease, like he was nasty and should be scrapped out of every single photo he was in with Queen. Now, I understand their displeasure for him. His choice to sell horrible stories about Freddie to the press was ill-intentioned and I can’t imagine how hurt Freddie felt. However, much of the reason these fans hate him so much is because of the movie, which demonized his role in working with the band. They act like Freddie was some puppet whose strings were held up by Prenter until Freddie finally got the “confidence” or “self awareness” to cut them. Prenter most likely, however, did not push drugs on Freddie, he most certainly did not push homosexuality on Freddie (also, why was this framed as a bad thing in the movie??), and he did not control Freddie’s decision making. I know there are several things wrong with the movie, but this is one of the worst imo (there were several other things wrong with it!!) because of the blatant disrespect of a man who, against his better judgement, sold a story about Freddie to be able to afford HIV medication, if my memory serves correctly. Yes, there were several better ways he could’ve gone about that without selling out one of the greatest rock performers of all time and causing him great turmoil. But the movie has done irreparable damage with people constantly insulting Paul at their every whim. Paul Prenter was most certainly not perfect, however I believe the jokes surrounding Paul Prenter have gone to far, with some of them bordering homophobic. I know there hasn’t been as much of this as there was in the 2018 Queen fandom, but it’s still out there. Also, because this comes up a lot from a lot of people who despise Paul — PAUL PRENTER DID NOT GIVE FREDDIE MERCURY HIV!!!
Reminder: Freddie Mercury was a GROWN MAN. A smart one at that. And he was definitely capable of making his own decisions, good or bad. No matter who may of persuaded him towards something, his choices are his own.
Now, I’m not defending Paul in any way for what he did. He deserves some criticism. I’m just tired of the unfair, untrue criticism he receives.
