On November 23, 1991, Freddie Mercury put an end to secrecy and speculation about his precarious state of health, the Queen vocalist confirmed that he had AIDS. The disease that silently killed him, leaving defenseless those who had struggled for so long with themselves and against the rumors that haunted him.

His last public appearance was on February 18, 1990 during the Brit Awards. Gaunt and beardless, wearing a gray double-breasted suit that has more bones than meat and looks sickly pale. “Thank you, good night,” were his only words during the gala concert. The press issued a verdict: Mercury was very ill. Brian May and Roger Taylor hooded their partner: “Freddie doesn’t have AIDS. He’s just momentarily paying the price for the rocker’s wild life.”

Intense, eloquent and strong on stage, Freddie Mercury was a shy man and very jealous of his private life. Even today, the exact date when the Voice of the Queen learned that he was HIV-positive remains unclear. Barbara Valentine, Mercury’s partner from 1983 to 1985, said she was diagnosed six years before her death. However, biography mercury and me written by Jim Hutton (the musician’s last partner), sets the given date to Easter 1987.

What is known for sure about this year is that the Mercury took fourth place on the chart. UK Singles Chart with the release of a solo single Great Challenger (great impostor), song originally recorded by the band do wop, In dishes. A song that speaks of the loneliness of those who hide their pain, pretending that everything is fine.

I’m a big pretender, pretend that I’m fine, my need is such that I pretend too much, I’m lonely, but no one could tell

Translation of the Great Challenger

And this is the artist who wrote Bohemian Rhapsody he spent most of his life pretending to be someone he wasn’t for fear of stigma. His example, recognized as an LGBT symbol and the visibility of HIV, was not much admired during his lifetime. From the side of homosexual activity, he was severely criticized for the ambiguity in recognizing his sexuality and for hiding his status as a carrier of the human immunodeficiency virus.

HIV has been and remains one of the most prejudiced diseases on the planet. This epidemic of the 1980s was blamed on marginalized groups such as drug addicts, homosexuals and prostitutes, causing a social stigma so deep and hard to erase that even today, with all the information we have about the disease, it continues to drag on.

To the fear of dying from an incurable disease was added the fear of being rejected by the whole society. Well, despite the open and sweetened appearance of the eighties, the reality was quite different, even in a country as advanced as the UK can be considered. In fact, in 1986, Margaret Thatcher’s government passed the controversial Section 28, which forced local authorities not to “Intentionally promoting homosexuality or posting materials aimed at promoting homosexuality.“or”promote teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as an intended family relationship in any charter school»; law in force until 2003.

Mercury injected drugs into his mansion in complete secrecy to avoid suspicion. He actively and passively denied his illness, talking to the press about the consequences of his depraved life and his homosexuality. The sensational sensation pursued him, trying to find an exclusive, the more the bunker was locked up, the more curiosity it aroused among journalists. The absence of performances since 1986, the care with which he concealed his personal life, and the apparent deterioration of his health have made Freddie Mercury’s illness an open secret that is difficult to hide until the day of confirmation.

“After a lot of speculation in the media over the past two weeks, I want to confirm that I have AIDS. I felt it was only right to keep this information a secret to this day in order to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come for my friends and supporters to know the truth, and I hope that you will all join me and my doctors in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very important to me, and I’m notorious for almost never giving interviews. This policy will be continued,” the statement of 24 November 1991 said.

Farrokh Bulsara, commonly known as Freddie Mercury, has joined the list of celebrities with AIDS that previously included Rock Hudson, Anthony Perkins or Gia Karanji. The rock icon has stopped pretending to pretend that the disease is as stigmatized as it is dangerous. However, the satisfaction will not last long after doing this bold act. The day after writing the briefing note, November 24, 1991, Mercury died at the age of 45. The official cause of his death was bronchopneumonia complicated by AIDS.

Contrary to what many might think, the announcement of his illness did not go unnoticed and sparked universal solidarity around the AIDS issue. In April 1992, his fellow Queen members formed the Mercury Phoenix Trust and organized a Freddie Mercury tribute concert in support of AIDS awareness. The concert, held at Wembley Stadium, included live performances by Metallica, George Michael, Lisa Stansfield, Def Leppard, Guns N Roses. or Liza Minnelli among others. A concert broadcast on public television to the whole world with half a billion viewers who, although they may not have fully realized it, helped to destigmatize AIDS in the name of Freddie Mercury, an impostor who was able to say goodbye to the world by telling his truth.