Denzel Washington has revealed that a same-sex kiss was cut from Gladiator 2, which is being released in UK cinemas tomorrow.
The legendary actor – whose performance as Macrinus in the film has garnered rave reviews from critics – made the comments during an interview with the LGBTQ+ publication Gayety.
"I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it... they cut it, I think they got chicken," he said.
"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."
This is actually the second time we've heard about a same-sex kiss being cut from the movie, with Paul Mescal previously revealing that he'd improvised kissing Pedro Pascal on the forehead – only for it to not make it into the movie.
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"I didn't tell Ridley I was gonna do it," he said during an interview with Cinema Blend. "And then I was nervous after we did it because I thought he was going to f**king hate it.
"So I nervously go over the radio being like, 'Ridley? Did you like the kiss on the forehead? Yay or nay?' And there was this kind of, like, [static] 'I’m afraid I did.' So I don't know where it got lost in the edit, but I trust this man entirely, though. How he cuts his films."
Scott himself added that he couldn't remember why that moment didn't make it into his final cut, saying, "It could have been in," before Mescal suggested it could be added to a later director's cut of the film.
Gladiator 2 is coming to cinemas on Friday 15th November 2024.
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