Denzel Washington revealed that his same-sex kissing scene was taken out of the final cut of Gladiator II.
During a recent interview with Gayety about the historical epic, Washington was asked, “How gay is the Roman Empire?” His response led to a bombshell no one was expecting.
“I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out, they cut it,” the actor said. “I think they got chicken.”
Washington added that the moment was not just a peck or forehead kiss.
“I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet,” he said. “I killed him about five minutes later. It’s Gladiator. It’s the kiss of death.”
Washington stars in the long-awaited sequel for the 2000 action flick as Macrinus, a former slave who won his freedom in the arena. Director Ridley Scott, who also helmed the original Gladiator, teased earlier this month that Washington’s character had a “twinkle” of bisexuality.
“There’s a twinkle. Also, he’s a gangster. I think he was clearly a prisoner of war, went to the ring, earned his freedom, suddenly working in a giant bread factory and supplied bread for the Roman army,” Scott said in an interview with The New York Times. “He maybe eventually took that over, then goes to munitions, so he’s an arms dealer. I thought that was his evolution. He said, ‘Oh, I like that. I’m a gangster.’”
In addition to Washington, the Gladiator II cast includes Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. Mescal, 28, stars as Lucius, who is the former heir of Rome and forced to become a gladiator. Pascal, 49, plays a general named Marcus. While their characters are rivals on screen, the actors teased that they also shared a tender moment in the movie. But just like Washington’s same-sex scene, it was also cut.
“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 said to Entertainment Weekly in October. “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.'”
While Scott found the moment endearing, the scene didn’t make the final version.
Gladiator II hits theaters on Friday, November 22.
