InIn a frank interview with The Guardian, British pop icon Robbie Williams opened up about the long-standing rumors regarding his sexuality while discussing his upcoming biopic Better Man.
“I’ve done everything but suck a cock. Honestly, you’ve never met somebody that wants to be gay as much as me,” Williams said, referring to his 2005 libel case against a tabloid that accused him of being involved in “homosexual encounters.” He added, “You want to be supportive, but you also have to protect your authenticity and your personal life.”
Looking back on his early years performing at gay clubs with Take That, Williams shared, “When I entered the gay scene, there was none of that [violence]. It was total acceptance, humor, and freedom. And safety.”
Directed by Michael Gracey, known for The Greatest Showman, Better Man charts Williams’ journey from his early days in Take That to his battles with substance abuse and mental health. Gracey explained that the concept of portraying Williams as a monkey created significant obstacles during the film’s development. “Convincing financiers was really tough,” he said. “People would say, ‘The director of The Greatest Showman plus Robbie Williams? We’re in.’ But then you’d mention, ‘One thing, Rob’s going to be played as a monkey,’ and that was the end of so many meetings.”
The film also addresses Williams’ complicated relationship with his former bandmates in Take That, especially Gary Barlow. Williams recounted that Barlow had concerns about how he would be represented in the script, saying, “Rob, read the script, I come off worse than Darth Vader in the first Star Wars.”
Better Man also delves into his relationship with Nicole Appleton of All Saints, including a controversial scene that touches on their terminated pregnancy. Williams clarified that the scene was only included after getting Appleton’s approval, reflecting on the immense pressures of the music industry at the time. “That you were advised, or even forced, to terminate a life because you were in a pop band… It’s only now that you think, ‘What the fuck? That’s insane,’” he said.
Williams compared his early exposure to fame with his teenage experimentation with drugs. “I first took LSD when I was 15, and I shouldn’t have done that at 15. I shouldn’t have taken fame either. It’s the same thing,” he explained.
Now married with four children, Williams takes a different approach to his career. “Daddy goes to work, that’s what I say now,” he said. “It wasn’t a job before. It was supposed to be magical, and when I reached the top, all I found was an existential crisis.”
“People say, ‘How dare you call it a job, all you do is X, Y, and Z.’ But just because your job sucks doesn’t mean mine has to. This is my job – and I fucking love it,” Williams added.
Williams also addressed the unusual decision to portray himself as a CGI chimpanzee in the film instead of using a human actor.
“Let’s face it, a Robbie Williams biopic without the monkey is way less interesting or intriguing,” Williams told The Guardian. “It would be interesting to my fans, but not to anyone else.”
Better Man is set to be released on December 26.
