Entertainment
Adam Lambert livid as ‘straight man’ Theo James is tipped to play ‘gay icon’ George Michael and his response causes a stir-Aisha Nozari-Entertainment – Metro
Drama’s afoot…
Theo James recently confirmed that he’d be up for playing George Michael in a biopic and Adam Lambert has thoughts (Picture: AP/Getty)
Adam Lambert has responded to rumours that Theo James is being eyed to portray George Michael in a new biopic.
James, who is best known for his turn in The White Lotus’ second season, recently revealed he’d be up for playing gay popstar Michael, but hit-maker Lambert isn’t best pleased.
In response to James’ potential casting, Lambert said: ‘Yay another straight man playing a gay icon,’ and people have mixed feelings about the American Idol star’s take.
It was during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen last week that 38-year-old James expressed interest in playing Michael.
When asked about the role, James replied: ‘I would love that. He’s a lot of Greek, and I’m a lot of Greek. Put that Greek together, and you get falafel.’
In response to the actor’s remarks, LGBTQ+ outlet The Advocate posted a side-by-side image of James and Michael on Instagram with the title: ‘White Lotus star Theo James eyeing gay role in George Michael biopic.’
Lambert said of the potential casting: ‘Yay another straight man playing a gay icon’ (Picture: Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
James is best known for his recent turn in The White Lotus season two (Picture: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images)
Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016 (Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
It was beneath this post that Lambert penned his remarks.
The If I Had You singer’s remark was met with support and criticism, with one person replying: ‘Literally so infuriating’ and another social media user echoing: ‘I thought the same thing!’
However, others disagreed with Lambert’s sentiment, with one Instagrammer saying: ‘That’s why it’s called acting, Adam. He might not be gay, but he is British and Greek as George was.’
Lambert’s remark was met with support and criticism (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for The National Lottery)
‘Whilst I agree to an extent there’s plenty of gay actors portraying straight characters. I suppose it’s called acting,’ wrote someone else.
Following James’ appearance on Watch What Happens Live, MailOnline reported that the star was ‘tipped’ to play Michael in an £85million biopic which it claimed is in the ‘final stages of development’.
What’s more, it was suggested that Michael’s estate was onboard with the film, however his family quickly denied those rumours, saying in a statement: ‘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.
‘On behalf of George’s family and GME 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.’
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Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016 in his Oxfordshire home at the age of 53.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to reps for Lambert and James.
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