Denzel Washington says he had a same-sex kiss in ‘Gladiator II’ that got cut
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Denzel Washington rules on screen, but there is one thing audiences won’t get to see him do in his latest film.
In an interview to promote “Gladiator II” with Gayety, the Oscar-winning actor talked about playing Roman emperor Macrinus. Washington was asked about “how gay” he thought the Roman empire was and he referenced a particular scene.
“I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out. They cut it,” he said. “I think they got chicken.”
“I kissed a guy full on the lips,” Washington added. “I guess they weren’t ready for that yet.”
The actor then joked about his character killing the character shortly thereafter, making it a “kiss of death.”
Director Ridley Scott is back for the sequel to the 2000 original film. Washington’s co-star, Paul Mescal, also shared a story regarding a kiss involving their other casemate, Pedro Pascal.
“There was a moment when we were rehearsing my fight scene with Pedro, and I had an idea towards the end of the scene to kiss Pedro on the forehead,” Mescal told Entertainment Weekly. “I did it in one of the takes, and then we’re getting the radio messages back to Ridley [in video village], and I was like, ‘Ridley: Kiss on the forehead, did you like it? Yay or nay?’ There was radio silence for a second. His radio crackles back, and [Ridley] goes, ‘I’m afraid I did.’”
“Gladiator II” is in theaters November 22.
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