Was Freddie really a good person?

Don't get me wrong, I think he is one of the best musicians of the 20th century.

But I just got done reading a book on him and as I see it he was a cheater, drug addict, selfish, rude, prone to angry outbursts, and there is pretty good evidence he was sleeping around when he knew he had HIV.

The whole time I am thinking, here is a guy I idolize, but there is no chance I'd want to know him.

I think a lot of people overlook some inexcusable faults of his because he wrote great music. I also feel like most people in his life were just hanger ons.

Well, he was an amazing musician, full of sins and mistakes, like you, me and every other human being. Some of the things he did were perceived as a rude attitude to some people. So, many people found him a lovely person while many others hated him. You may find better answers in the books and interviews that talk about him.

Was Freddie a drug addict? No. He used drugs from time to time but you he wasnt Morrison, Cobain or any of those guys.

Was Freddie an irresponsible AIDS-spreading machine? No. Remember that this sickness was very much unknown at the time, so unknown that even had a name until a lot of years later, so before you assume anything, remember that it happened in a very different time, when nobody knew exactly, until a lot of years later, what was this sickness. Hell, even 30+ years later there are many things we dont know about HIV virus!

We overlook his personal life cause we are interested in the music, not in his life, except for the way his life changed/touched his music.
He wasnt a saint, and nobody here cares about it. He even accepted it on many interviews.

Well I like his music and I didn't know him as a person (unfortunately ;-). I was 11 when Freddie died and I remember it like a lightening bolt. I noticed a change in my peers (whether we liked Queen or not) in that we all suddenly got wise due to his announcement. I noticed we all worked out that to be straight, gay or bi was a personal choice, and that people had a problem with that weren't cool and we became vocal about it. And we also grew up understanding that whatever your proclivity was, that you had to be protected...

...And for busting that wide open. However those who knew him took him, he did some massively good things in my book that changed our society (and he made a few tunes you could hum)... x

"Selfish" and "inexcusable faults"? You would not want to meet him? It was just his life, that's all. He was amazing.

"here is a guy I idolize, but there is no chance I'd want to know him"

Then you're a fool! You need to stop idolising/looking up to celebrities and entertainers on the basis of the work they create.

If you're lucky and one of your favourite artists is someone like Ted Neeley (ie. alien levels of talent and a really cool dude all in one) then that's awesome. But you're setting yourself up for constant disappointment in life if you keep doing this thing of 'oh wow I thought they were amazing but I just found out they did drugs'. First of all, that's not a problem. Second, it's none of your business. And third, he's been dead for almost a quarter of a century. He doesn't even exist now; just his songs do.

It's really a non topic at this point.

Best answer: "I don't know".

The parameters are so personal and everything is relative to an opinion. Some people admire his "depravity" and indulgences. Other people think why did I look up to him?


It's the same thing I say when thinking about most artists. I don't worry about it, but curiosity can warrant the question.


What about Michael Jackson? Was he a good person? He gave millions to charity, visited US troops and visited terminally ill patients and children on his own, gave to hospitals etc, but is personally irrevocably marred by speculation as to his personal behavior.

Look at Jim Morrison. ... man whore by all accounts. .. alcoholic drug addict. ...Some of his work can be seen as purely demented drunken rambling.

Look at the stones, The who, leonardo davinci, Tupac shakur, Caravaggio, That woman SEAL was married to, little Richard, Elvis, ... Chuck Berry, .... hell, even Chuck Norris. ....

Who's to say without knowing them. .


People are admired for all sorts of reasons. Music is an unusually diverse and personal reflection of the listener like all art is to the viewer and one who experiences it.

Though much of an artists life is expressed in their work. Not everything is.

Good question if you're trying to pick the brains of users at QZ though.


The answer is "who knows?"

P.s. I've heard Ted Neely freezes chickens and slingshots them into traffic for kicks.

Such a black and white question... shades of gray.

IMO if you poke deeply into anyone's life you can find aspects of them that might affect your opinion.
When that person is idolized beyond belief and, even worse dead, the pedestal upon which they are placed is ridiculous.
When the thirst for anecdotes about them is so strong that a fortune can be made by writing a book full of hyperbole, you get books of dubious nature.
Plus the fact that nearly any one of us would go off the rails one way or another if we had more money than God and myriad opportunities to do so.


There is a lot of good and bad in this world.
Most of the time it behooves us to take the good and incorporate it into our lives and try not to let the bad affect us too deeply.
Freddie did quite a bit to enhance my life and for that I am forever grateful.
I am so grateful that I don't need to go poking around looking for character flaws.
Everyone is flawed. Forgive him for being human and move on.

[QUOTE] [b]Kahle33 wrote:[/b]
as I see it he was a cheater, drug addict, selfish, rude, prone to angry outbursts, and there is pretty good evidence he was sleeping around when he knew he had HIV.
[/QUOTE]

Take the HIV-spreading speculation out of the equation, and isn't that pretty usual behaviour for a rock singer? I don't think anyone ever claimed that Freddie Mercury was a saint.

You have to forget the whole HIV thing - really. It was a different time, and we can't judge things that people did then with today's knowledge.

Unless Freddie Mercury actually wrote the book you're talking about, you don't know how much is true anyway, but even if he did 'sleep around' when he 'knew' he was HIV positive (and I'm not even going to bother going into that speculation)... presumably the people he slept with had some say in the matter. You're talking about people's extremely private and personal lives and decisions, and it isn't for you, me, or the person who wrote the book you read to judge.

1984-5 (the time I assume you're talking about) was a period of panic, fear, demonisation and vilification of gay communities, victim-blaming, misinformation and poor testing facilities (that could give inaccurate results, including false positives). Freddie Mercury was as much a victim as anyone else.

Seriously, don't go down that road.

[QUOTE] [b]Kahle33 wrote:[/b]
But I just got done reading a book on him and as I see it he was a cheater, drug addict, selfish, rude, prone to angry outbursts, and there is pretty good evidence he was sleeping around when he knew he had HIV.

The whole time I am thinking, here is a guy I idolize, but there is no chance I'd want to know him..[/QUOTE]

Drug addict? I think he took drugs in moderation, and liked to have fun. So what? That makes him a bad person does it?
Selfish, rude and prone to angry outbursts? I don't recall anyone he lived with making him out to be some kind of bully. Most people can be difficult on occasions. But it's overall that counts, and the vast majority of folks who knew Freddie have had good words about him, not bad.
And what evidence do you have that he slept around after Easter '87? Or are you just throwing crap out there based on speculation? That doesn't count as evidence.
Inexcusable faults? With how judgmental you come across, I'd say there'd have been no chance he'd have wanted to have known you either.

Let's go over the things you mention, which may make him a bad person:

- Cheater: He was gay, and for most of his life didn't have a stable partner - that doesn't really make him a cheat. When he was with Jim, he may have cheated on him a few times, but so what? Cheating doesn't make you a bad person, unless it is harmful to your children, etc.

- Drug addict: Nothing points to him being an addict. He used cocaine heavily for some time, so what? I would if I could.

- Selfish: Nothing points to this - on the contrary, most people who knew him said he was very kind and generous.

- Rude: He had his moments - he was for some time the biggest rockstar in the world - that can be a very big thing to handle, and makes it difficult to keep your feet on the ground. But again, although he was demanding and could be a bitchy diva, I don't think he was in general a rude man.

- Prone to anger: Maybe, but so what? He wanted it his way, and he reached such a high level of fame that it became difficult to be content with anything less. He wasn't a violent man.

Which leaves only the elphant in the room. Did he sleep with other people, although he knew he had HIV? He may have. But then again, what do we mean by "knew"? Until 1987, or at the earliest, 1986, he didn't KNOW for certain. Yes, by 1984-85 he probably had a good idea that he had HIV. In fact, around 1985, he changed his life around and stopped sleeping around as much - at least that's what people who knew him said. Before 1984, as others said, nobody knew much about HIV - during this time he kept being reckless, but so did all the man-whores who slept around and may have come in contact with him. I'm sure he infected several people, but someone also infected him, no? You can't judge these people, apart from saying they were irresponsible and sexually hedonistic. He certainly didn't go around PURPOSEFULLY infecting people.

It has been told by many people that he was a good friend and generous to those people who belonged to his closest circle. Freddie has had a huge influence on my life and on how I do things. I don't sleap around, I don't do drugs and I don't do men, but there's a lot more to the man. Whatever I do, I try to do with high energy and in the way Freddie performed his music. When I do public speaking or perform in some other way, I get inspired by Freddie. I try to do capture the audience, like he did. Just a few examples. I personally couldn't care less if he was a good person or not.

[quote] When he was with Jim, he may have cheated on him a few times, but so what? Cheating doesn't make you a bad person [/quote]

Depends what your morals are. In my opinion, it kinda does. However, i don't think anybody knows how serious a relationship Freddie had with these people (Were they just dating, or in a relationship?).

Look, if we have to take something from Freddie's life, it's not the bullshit cheating, drugs, and what not. Those are just meaningless games. If we take something, it's his drive for life and for doing what he loved to do with passion and inner vigor, despite his failing health and the fact that his imminent death was inescapable. From him we can learn that even when you feel you're so deep in a dark hole, you must still find the power to climb out of it, and to improve your situation and keep going. Most of us aren't facing death like Freddie was - so whatever it is that may block our path and put us down, we certainly can rise up above it and strive to continue.

He certainly lived irresponsibly for a time, but who are we to judge? He himself sang in 1989 that 'it was a worthwhile experience', regardless of the moral implications, or even his illness. I very much doubt he slept around once he was certain of his condition and the consequences of it. He anonymously donated to AIDS charities later in his life - that has to count for something in the case for him being a good man.

Freddie and Jim were certainly a serious relationship as I understand it - they lived together in Freddie's final years. I have to agree that cheating is truly a reprehensible abuse of trust, however I don't believe a bad action defines Freddie outrightly a bad person if it's true that he cheated on Jim. He definitely cheated on Mary, but that's a slightly more complicated matter.

Using drugs recreationally doesn't make him a bad person by any means - again, it's a matter of indulgence and disregard for the ill effects. If he was hurting anybody by doing coke, it would have been only himself.