Brian May claimed Freddie Mercury would have been a victim of cancel culture due to being outspoken.
Mercury never talked about his sexuality in public, but there were topics he had been outspoken with that could have triggered a cancel culture if he remains alive today.
In a new interview during the ITV Palooza (via Express), Brian May reflected on his late bandmate's legacy as part of his 30th death anniversary. He also touched on the possibility that the frontman would have suffered from today's culture.
According to May, social media has played a massive role in everyone's lives, and it started affecting them in several ways. Because of this, the late singer would probably suffer more if he was still alive.
"Freddie was very outspoken and, in common with [astronomer] Patrick Moore who was a very good friend of mine from a previous generation, the kind of way that people spoke in those days is not allowed these days," he said.
He revealed that "gagging people" is not where he and Mercury would have fitted. As for Moore's part, May believed he would only last for five minutes or less.
Brian May "Uncomfortable" With Modern Culture
Elsewhere during the interview, May reflected on how he began to feel uncomfortable, especially when some of his comments were taken differently by other people.
"People are so afraid of being called out. It is a horrible atmosphere. I worry about cancel culture. I think some of it is good but it also brings bad things and injustices. We think in different ways but they weren't necessarily worse ways," he said.
As for the Brit Awards' decision to combine the male and female artists for its Best Artist awards, he claimed Queen would find it hard to stay relevant. Although Mercury's sexuality never truly pushed the band's popularity, he revealed that he saw the late singer more than as a frontrunner.
His comments came after Mercury's long-time PA and friend Peter Freestone revealed the singer wanted to be as private as possible. The late singer reportedly refused to talk about it in public but also never hid that fact either.
Although the "Bohemian Rhapsody" hitmaker had been attracted to men since the 1970s, he reportedly faced problems despite gay rights noticeably improved. In addition, the wrong information about AIDS affected people in the gay community.
