Ridley Scott Says Denzel Washington’s ‘Gladiator II’ Same-Sex Kiss ‘Didn’t Happen’: ‘They Acted the Moment’
variety.comMarc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Denzel Washington may have said that his same-sex kiss in “Gladiator II” was cut from the movie because the powers that be got “chicken,” but, according to director Ridley Scott, the kiss may not have happened at all. “No, that’s bullshit,” Scott told me Monday night at the “Gladiator II” premiere in Hollywood.
He later added, “They never did. They acted the moment — it didn’t happen.” Washington, meanwhile, claimed that it was simply a “peck” on the lips. “It really is much ado about nothing,” Washington 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.” During a recent interview with Gaytey, Washington revealed that “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 been in relationships with other men in the past.
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