Robbie Williams has candidly put to rest any remaining rumors about his sexuality.
In a new interview to promote his biopic, Better Man, the 50-year-old British singer-songwriter reflected on his 2005 libel case victory, in which he won substantial damages and a public apology against a tabloid over claims that he was a “secret homosexual.”
“I was annoyed,” Williams told The Guardian. “I was more sad. Not about gay accusations because look, I’ve done everything but suck a cock. Honestly, you’ve never met somebody that wants to be gay as much as me.”
Going on to use a metaphor, he said: “I’m a Port Vale fan and it’s like somebody going ‘well you’re a Liverpool fan.’ And me saying ‘no I’m not, I’m a Port Vale fan’. When somebody says you’re a Liverpool fan a hundred times it’s like ‘I’m not a f***ing Liverpool fan, why do people think I’m a Liverpool fan?!’.”
The “Angels” singer added: “You want to be an ally while at the same time protecting your own authenticity and your own life. Besides, if I want to suck a cock, I’ll suck a cock. Who’s going to f***ing stop me? My wife? The beard!”
Fondly reflecting on his earlier years performing in gay bars with his former pop group Take That, Williams remembered: “When I went into the gay world there was none of that [violence]. There was total acceptance and humor and gay abandon. And safety. That’s what I take with me to this day; it was an incredibly safe place for me to grow up.”
Williams has been married to Days of Our Lives actor Ayda Field since 2010. The couple share four children: Teddy, 12; Charlie, nine; Coco, six; and Beau, four.
Directed by Michael Gracey, Better Man sees Williams portrayed by a CGI monkey. While the movie tells the story of the singer’s meteoric rise to music stardom, it doesn’t shy away from showing the more controversial elements of Williams’s career and the struggles he has experienced in life.
In one scene, which Williams has admitted leaves him with “shame,” the pop star’s ex-fianceé, All Saints star Nicole Appleton, is depicted aborting their baby. During their two-year relationship, the former couple got pregnant. However, the pregnancy was terminated following pressure from All Saints’ record company.
At the film’s premiere afterparty, Williams hailed Appleton as “brave” for agreeing to the moment being in the movie. Speaking about the difficult scene, Williams told Hello: “The most difficult bit is watching Nicole and what we went through, because she was instructed to get rid of our baby.
“With Nic, I did the wrong thing,” he said. “It wasn’t that bit, wasn’t the abortion — I didn’t make her do that — but I was a f***ing awful boyfriend, like, really awful, and I was in the height of my addiction and alcoholism. And it breaks my heart every time I watch it, because she’s a complete angel, and there is still shame attached to who I was then.”
Better Man will have a limited release in theaters on December 25, followed by a wider release on January 10, 2025.
