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Sir Ridley Scott has firmly refuted Denzel Washington’s claim he kissed a man in Gladiator II – only to see it cut from the final film.
And in typical straightforward Sir Ridley fashion, he called the actor’s story ‘bulls**t’.
The highly-anticipated sequel follows Maximus’ (Russell Crowe) and Lucilla’s (returning star Connie Nielsen) son Lucius (Paul Mescal), who enters the Colosseum as an enslaved gladiator with a thirst for revenge after his life is destroyed by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
His battle prowess in the arena impresses his new owner, the scheming Macrinus (Washington), who decides to fashion him into a star under the thumb of the Roman Empire.
Washington, whose character’s past relationships with men are mentioned and is written as bisexual, said that he ‘kissed a guy full on the lips’ shortly before killing him in one scene.
Expressing his disappointment over the edit, he added: ‘I guess they weren’t ready for that yet.’
Denzel Washington said the world ‘wasn’t ready’ yet for his same-sex kiss in Gladiator II (Picture: Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures)
As with the Ancient Greeks, sexual relationships among men were a common enough occurrence during the culture of the Roman Empire.
But Sir Ridley seems to have a different recollection of events to that of his star.
‘No, that’s bulls**t,’ he insisted to Variety at the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday night. ‘They never did. They acted the moment – it didn’t happen.’
Meanwhile, 69-year-old Washington told the outlet on the red carpet that his remarks had been blown out of proportion and it was simply ‘a peck’ on the lips.
However, director Sir Ridley Scott (pictured with wife Giannina) briskly denied the scene every existed (Picture: Amy Sussman/WireImage)
Washington’s Macrinus is a scheming power player whose relationships with men are mentioned in the film (Picture: Aidan Monaghan/ Paramount Pictures)
‘It really is much ado about nothing,’ the Training Day star stated. ‘They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him.’
During an interview with LGBTQ+ outlet Gayety recently, Washington discussed his character Macrinus, who is attracted to both men and women, and claimed the makers ‘got chicken’ by cutting out his same-sex kiss.
‘I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out, they cut it, I think they got chicken,’ he revealed while discussing how gay the Roman Empire is.
‘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.’
As Macrinus is rather a ruthless type, there’s actually more than one candidate for his kiss, but it seems as though recollections vary over whether or not the cameras were rolling during the moment.
Washington’s turn as Macrinus as been praised by critics as scene-stealing (Picture: Paramount Pictures)
Washington’s co-star Nielsen addressed the omission at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night, telling Variety that her ‘grieving scene’ didn’t make it into the film either and that ‘it’s not homophobia. It’s just there was no room for it’.
Producer Michael Pruss also added: ‘There was so much stuff that was shot that didn’t make it into the film. It was truly a non-event.’
However, it hasn’t stopped fans sharing their shock and heartbreak at what could have been.
‘I can’t believe I exist in a universe where Denzel is like, “they weren’t ready to see me kissing other men!!!”‘ @gabalexa wrote on X.
‘How much suffering can we take,’ @rosedommu added.
The star has also talked down the kiss now, calling it simply ‘a peck’, but seeming to maintain that it was filmed (Picture: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)
‘Having a Denzel Gay Kiss ON FILM and then choosing, entirely of your own will, NOT TO USE IT should actually be considered a crime against humanity,’ @jordanblocked echoed.
‘Cowards, probably would’ve been the most historically accurate part of the movie,’ @hijade2madre shared.
Countless more also called for the ‘Denzel Washington cut’ to be released.
The movie has secured a devoted LGBTQ+ fanbase with its inclusion of stars such as Mescal and Pascal, who are firm favourites within the community.
As put by GQ: ‘Your movie can only boast so many close-ups of a shirtless Paul Mescal – sweat glistening over the surface of his pulsating biceps and taut stomach, lit as generously as an OnlyFans shoot – before it starts to feel a little… fruity.’
Although we won’t get to see this aspect of Washington’s performance play out onscreen, he has plenty more to offer to the film, with critics praising his Oscar-worthy performance.
Connie Nielsen, who returns as Lucilla,referenced other scenes that there was ‘no room for’ in the final edit(Picture: Paramount Pictures)
Paul Mescal takes the lead as Maximus’ grieving son Lucius (Picture: Paramount/Everett/Rex/Shutterstock)
Metro’s review raved: ‘The Training Day star is just so good, so supremely confident and charismatic, so over-the-top that I would love to see another Oscar come his way.’
‘Washington almost steals the entire picture,’ The Guardian’s four-star review observed, while The Independent praised his ‘sleeve acting’ and added: ‘Washington takes pure, delicious revelry in the spoken word.’
And it’s no surprise that the Equalizer actor has gone all-in as he approaches the end of his brilliant career.
‘For me, it’s about the filmmakers. Especially at this point in my career, I am only interested in working with the best.
‘I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. It’s probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done,’ he said during the Gladiator II press tour, per Variety.
As of right now he has only a handful more projects lined up including one with Sir Steve McQueen, an adaptation of Othello and a role in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 3.
Gladiator II is in UK cinemas now. It’s released in the US on Friday, November 22.
A previous version of this article was published on November 14.
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