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Denzel Washington says he had a same-sex kiss in ‘Gladiator II’ that was cut
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Denzel Washington says he had a same-sex kiss in ‘Gladiator II’ that was cut



CNN

Denzel Washington rules the screen, but there’s one thing audiences won’t see him do in his latest film.

In an interview to promote ‘Gladiator II’ with Gayety, the Oscar-winning actor talked about playing Roman Emperor Macrinus. Washington was asked “how gay” he thought the Roman Empire was and he referred to a particular scene.

“I actually kissed a guy in the movie, but they took him out. They cut it off, he said. “I think they have chicken.”

“I kissed a man full on the lips,” Washington added. “I don’t think they were ready for that yet.”

The actor then joked about his character killing the character shortly afterwards, making it a “kiss of death.”

Director Ridley Scott returns for the sequel to the original 2000 film. Washington’s co-star Paul Mescal also shared a story about a kiss involving their other casemate, Pedro Pascal.

“There was a moment where we were rehearsing my fight scene with Pedro, and towards the end of the scene I had the idea to kiss Pedro on the forehead,” Mescal told Entertainment Weekly. “I did it in one of the takes, and then we send the radio messages back to Ridley (in video village), and I was like, ‘Ridley: Kiss on the forehead, did you like it? Yes or no?’ There was a second of radio silence. His radio crackles back and (Ridley) says, “I’m afraid I did that.”

‘Gladiator II’ will be in theaters on November 22.