Robbie Williams has addressed long-standing rumours about his sexuality in a candid interview with The Guardian, jokingly claiming he’s “done everything but suck a c**k.”
The “Angels” singer is currently promoting his upcoming biopic, Better Man, in which he is portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee. The film touches on the persistent speculation about Williams’ sexuality, including allegations that he had a “secret gay lover” during his time in Take That.
Williams recalled the peak of these rumours in 2004 when People magazine published a false story accusing him of deceiving the public by suggesting he was heterosexual. The claims alleged that he performed a sex act on a man in a Manchester club. In 2005, Williams successfully sued the publication, receiving an apology and substantial damages.
Speaking to The Guardian, the singer admitted the accusations left him “sad,” particularly because they were untrue. “I was annoyed… I was more sad. Not about gay accusations because look, I’ve done everything but suck a c**k. Honestly, you’ve never met somebody that wants to be gay as much as me,” he said.
Drawing a humorous analogy, Williams likened the repeated accusations to being a loyal fan of one football club but being wrongly associated with another. “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**king Liverpool fan!’”
However, he acknowledged the challenge in navigating such allegations. “You want to be an ally while at the same time protecting your own authenticity and your own life,” he explained, adding: “Besides if I want to suck a ck, I’ll suck a ck. Who’s going to f**king stop me? My wife? The beard!”
Williams also reflected on performing in LGBTQ+ venues during his Take That days, describing them as a “safe place” compared to the culture of violence he experienced growing up.
“Where I’m from, we do two things really well: kindness and violence,” he shared. “When you went out of an evening, it was highly likely that violence was in your near future. You always had to be hyper-aware of who you’d p***ed off.”
By contrast, he found acceptance and security in LGBTQ+ spaces. “When I went into the gay world, there was none of that. There was total acceptance, humour, 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.”
This is not the first time the “Let Me Entertain You” singer has sparked discussion about his sexuality. In 2013, Williams famously described himself as “49 per cent homosexual,” telling the Daily Star, “I love musical theatre and a lot of the other things often associated with gays. I am 49 per cent homosexual and sometimes as far as 50 per cent. However, that would imply that I enjoy having a particular sort of fun, which I don’t.”
