At the ‘Gladiator II’ premiere in Hollywood, Ridley Scott denied Denzel Washington’s gay kiss claims in the film.
“No, that’s bullsh*t,” the director revealed. He also added, “They never did. They acted the moment — it didn’t happen.”
Washington, on the other hand, said it was just a ‘peck’ on the lips. “It really is much ado about nothing,” the actor said at the premiere. “They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him.”
In a recent interview with Gayety, Washington revealed his gay kiss was cut from ‘Gladiator II.’ He noted, “I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out, they cut it, I think they got chicken. I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet. I killed him about five minutes later. It’s ‘Gladiator.’ It’s the kiss of death.”
The ‘Gladiator II’ script mentions that Washington’s character, Macrinus, has had relationships with men before. At the Governors Awards in Los Angeles, Connie Nielsen, who returns as Lucilla in the sequel, shared her thoughts on Washington’s cut gay kiss scene.
She said, “My grieving scene didn’t make it into the film either. It’s not homophobia. It’s just there was no room for it.” Producer Michael Pruss also shared, “There was so much stuff that was shot that didn’t make it into the film. It was truly a non-event.”
This role reunites Washington with director Ridley Scott, whom he worked with on ‘American Gangster’ in 2007. It was Scott’s involvement that made Washington agree to join the sequel. Washington’s gay kiss wasn’t the only one cut; Paul Mescal also said a kiss between his character and Pedro Pascal’s was removed.
The actor told Entertainment Weekly, “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.”
He continued, “I did it in one of the takes, and then we’re getting the radio messages back to Ridley [Scott, the film’s director] 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 goes ‘I’m afraid I did.'”
‘Gladiator II’ premiered in Sydney, Australia, on October 30, 2024, and was released in the UK on November 15. It will be released in the US on November 22.
