Rocketman reportedly makes history as first studio film with explicit gay sex scenes

Rocketman, the Elton John biopic that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last night, is being hailed as the first major studio film to depict a male gay sex scene on screen.

The Paramount picture features explicit lovemaking between Taron Egerton, who plays Elton John, and Richard Madden who plays his lover, the music manager John Reid. The scene includes nudity, kissing and stimulated oral-sex between the two men – areas that studios have traditionally shied away from.

Brokeback Mountain and Call Me by Your Name also depicted gay sex scenes, but these were both released by smaller “boutique” studio off-shoots and given limited releases (unlike Rocketman, which is aimed at a broader audience).

The recent musical biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, didn’t show same-sex lovemaking in the such detail, despite the sexuality of the protagonist, Freddie Mercury.

Egerton, who identifies as heterosexual, has spoken about the reaction to the scene, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “Everyone is obsessed with it. … For me, kissing a man onscreen is no less appealing than kissing a woman onscreen. I’m not in any way repulsed by the male form. It’s an uncomfortable thing regardless of who you’re with — it makes no difference as to your sexual preference.”

Studios can be reluctant to feature gay sex scenes, in part, because it will disqualify a film from release in China, thereby limiting financial prospects. Bohemian Rhapsody edited out suggestions of Mercury’s homosexuality to secure release in the country.