No member of the band is immune to an unsavory stereotype or two—such is the way of being in a band. For frontpeople, their most common “bad” traits are often what make them the most suitable candidates for the job. Singers often have a flair for the dramatic, they like being the center of attention, and they know how to express (and get) what they want. With a negative spin, these become characteristics of the “diva” or “prima donna.”
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Historically, these terms have also been used to demean male singers who have more flamboyant personalities, like Freddie Mercury. Using “diva” and “prima donna” in this context combined lead singer stereotypes, homophobia, and misogyny, as the “punchline” belittles gay men by comparing them to women. As the frontman for one of the biggest rock bands of the time, Mercury was no stranger to this kind of criticism.
But in a 1988 interview with Lisa Robinson of Radio 1990, Mercury explained why those terms, albeit “outdated,” didn’t bother him. For one thing, there were more positives to being a diva than these insults let on. And for another, some of those negative characteristics were true of Mercury. The Queen vocalist called it part of the deal.
Freddie Mercury Responds to Being Called “Diva” and “Prima Donna”
While Freddie Mercury’s flamboyant sexuality would be par for the course in the 2020s, it was still an eyebrow-raising spectacle in the 1970s and 80s. As the AIDS crisis began to take root around the world, homophobia became rampant. Sexuality became tabloid fodder, and the Queen vocalist was often in these magazines’ crosshairs. Although he largely kept his sexuality private, Mercury told Lisa Robinson that he didn’t mind the terms frequently used to insult or belittle flamboyant male performers, like “diva” and “prima donna.” Initially, though, he called the terms “old” and “outdated.”
“It’s nice to be a prima donna,” Mercury continued. “It’s nice to be a diva as well. When you’re a frontman, you get all those, you get all those titles. But I’m not a prima donna.” He added, “I’m temperamental, yes. I’m a musician. Everybody is. I have artistic temperament. I have tantrums, you know. If something’s not going right, I throw things. I could destroy a room in about three seconds. But I don’t do that anymore.
Elsewhere in the interview, Mercury admitted that he looked back on some of his more flamboyant looks from his early 20s with some time-earned regret. “I look back at myself and think, ‘Oh, my God, how could I have done that?’ Wearing black nail varnish and the long hair and wearing the makeup and wearing the kind of clothes. But I mean, everybody grows out of it. I was about 20, 22 years old. I’m now 37.”
Of course, both perspectives have their place for someone in their late 30s. You’re old enough to know that maybe, just maybe, not every idea you had in your 20s was stellar. But you’re also old enough to know that “diva” is an honor, not an insult.
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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