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Meet the transgender woman who claims she helped Freddie Mercury explore his sexuality.
By Alison Cerri — Written on Nov 20, 2018
Since the release of the wildly successful film Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018, more and more people are becoming familiar with the story of the Queen and its frontman, Freddie Mercury. Of course, it's also piqued curiosity about Mercury's love life.
With the release of the biopic, some new rumors about Mercury are cropping up 27 years after his death, including news of an alleged trans lover.
The star had two public loves, Mary Austin and Jim Hutton. Mercury reportedly considered Austin "irreplaceable," and Mercury's boyfriend Hutton stood by their sides after the singer's AIDS diagnosis.
But those may not have been his only intimate relationships.
Lanah P., who identifies as genderfluid and uses she/her pronouns, has come forward with details about her alleged relationship with Mercury. Who is she, and how does she say she changed his life?
1. She was on a comedy show.
Lanah, 59, starred on a show called The Comic Strip Presents, on which she was credited under her deadname Alan Pillay but performed in drag. According to Lanah, this is how she and Mercury met. Lanah told the Daily Star, “Freddie saw me on TV and said to one of his friends, ‘I saw this camp creature on television and I’d love to meet them.’”
The two first officially met in 1984, and Lanah explained that their affection for each other took some time to develop. “A few days later I got a call and he asked to see me again. It was then the more intimate stuff started to happen. It was intense. Of course there was admiration there. But it was driven by lust," she explained.
2. She was transitioning at the time.
While they were meeting, Lanah P. was in the middle of transitioning to a woman. She had been in hormone treatment for a year by the time they first met.
3. She believes she helped him explore his sexuality.
Lanah described Mercury's taste in men before their alleged affair as being "gay men with handlebar mustaches."
“I think I broadened Freddie’s understanding of himself," she said. "I helped him with self-discovery. I told him that I thought he went beyond limitations and was poly-sexual—he covered everything.” This matches with Mercury's own description of himself: "I'll sleep with anything — man, woman, or cat!"
4. He involved her in his life.
Mercury invited her to parties, though Lanah didn’t mesh with them. He also bought her jewelry.
“The funny thing about Freddie is he was always looking for The One. And when he liked someone he would get fixated on them. But all of that was contradicted by this really promiscuous side of him. He was a conflicted person," Lanah said.
5. She did not broadcast their relationship.
Lanah, who called herself "a relative nobody,” was private about their relationship. “I didn’t want anybody thinking I was hanging out with someone so they would facilitate my career. I was a very independent person," the woman explained, though she admitted to some others being aware of their alleged trysts. "Danny La Rue did a nudge nudge, wink wink about it once. His girlfriend Mary Austin said she was aware I knew Freddie. And it was the same with Brian May and Roger Taylor,” Lanah alleged.
6. Lanah doesn’t think the new biopic does Mercury’s personal life justice.
She agrees with critics that Bohemian Rhapsody “straight-washes” the star. “There isn’t enough of an expose of his debauchery,” Lanah said, “I think it’s bonkers,” she told the Daily Star.
Alison Cerri is an editorial intern at YourTango. When she's not writing, she can be found on a run or at rugby practice. Follow her on Instagram.