Queen singer Adam Lambert has made his feelings very clear about the prospect of The White Lotus star Theo James portraying the late George Michael in a film.
Theo was recently asked if he would be interested in playing the lead in a biopic about the Wham! star’s life, admitting he’d jump at the chance.
During an appearance on the US talk show Watch What Happens Live, alongside his White Lotus co-star Meghann Fahy, Theo described the Careless Whisper singer as an “icon”.
“Oh yeah, I would love that, he’s an icon,” Theo said. “He’s a lot of Greek, and I’m a lot of Greek. Put that Greek together, and you get falafel.”
After the LGBTQ+ news outlet The Advocate shared the story on social media, Adam shot down the idea of Theo playing a gay man on screen.
“Yay another straight man playing a gay icon,” Adam wrote in a since-deleted comment.
In March 2020, the American Idol finalist told Metro that he would like to play George – who died in 2016 aged 53 – should a biopic ever be made.
“That’d be cool,” he said. “I just feel like, we don’t know that much about him. You know, to me, it would be great to kind of explore George’s life.
“I’d give it a go. Yeah, sign me up.”
In recent years, prominent queer figures including Elton John and Freddie Mercury have been portrayed by non-gay actors – Taron Egerton in Rocketman and Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, respectively.
It’s A Sin and Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has previously spoken out about his belief that only gay actors should play gay characters.
He said: “I’m not being woke about this... but I feel strongly that if I cast someone in a story, I am casting them to act as a lover, or an enemy, or someone on drugs or a criminal or a saint... they are NOT there to ‘act gay’ because ‘acting gay’ is a bunch of codes for a performance.
“It’s about authenticity… You wouldn’t cast someone able-bodied and put them in a wheelchair, you wouldn’t black someone up. Authenticity is leading us to joyous places.”
Meanwhile, George Michael’s estate has denied the existence of any current plans to release a film on his life.
“To all of George’s Lovelies, fans and lovers of his music, a story has been published stating that George Michael’s family has endorsed a so-called ‘biopic’ about his life,” it said.
“On behalf of George’s family and [George Michael Entertainment] we want to make it clear that there is no truth whatsoever in this story, we know nothing about this project and will not be endorsing it in any way.”