Denzel Washington recanted his statement that he kissed a man on the set of Gladiator II after director Ridley Scott called the claim “bullshit.”
Washington initially claimed a same-sex kiss in an Oct. 31 interview with Gaety, but changed his tune Monday after Scott dismissed the claim during a red carpet interview at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles.
“I actually kissed a guy in the movie and they took it away,” the actor said at the time. “I kissed a lot of guys on the lips, but I don’t think they were ready for that yet.”
“No, that’s bullshit. It was the senator,” Scott said of Washington’s claims. “They never did that. They acted on the spur of the moment and it didn’t happen.”
Ridley Scott denies Denzel Washington’s same-sex kiss was cut #gladiator 2 Happened: “They acted on the spur of the moment – it didn’t happen.” pic.twitter.com/FstxCHBKRt
— Variety (@Variety) November 19, 2024
Washington initially seemed adamant when discussing the same-sex kiss scene, but appeared to change his mind in an interview with Variety on Monday.
“It’s actually a lot of fuss about nothing. They’re leveraging it even more than before,” Washington said. “I kissed his hand. I gave him a peck.”
Denzel Washington talks about deleted same-sex kissing scene #gladiator 2: “A lot of fuss about nothing, really. They’re taking advantage of it even more than before. I kissed his hand, pecked him, and killed him.” pic.twitter.com/cVpopnvMj1
— Variety (@Variety) November 19, 2024
In both interviews, Washington was consistent in that he killed the person he kissed. The rest of the details varied from interview to interview, and the actor appeared to want to distance himself from the original allegations following Scott’s statement. (Related: Denzel Washington reveals shocking scene from ‘Gladiator II’ that fans won’t be able to see)
The actor and director did not provide further details about the same-sex kissing scene.
