Ridley Scott Responds To Denzel Washitong’s Gladiator 2 Same-Sex Kiss Scene That ‘Never’ Happened
Ridley Scott recently opened up about Denzel Washington’s same-sex kiss scene in Gladiator 2. Learn if the sequence really happened or not.
Director Ridley Scott recently opened up about his latest film, Gladiator 2. While addressing a lot of things around the film that bring the Colosseum back to the big screen, the filmmaker also expressed his side of the story, shedding light on Denzel Washington’s same-sex kiss sequence.
During the premiere of Gladiator 2, which was held in Los Angeles, the director of Blade Runner stated, “They never did,” talking about Washington kissing another man on screen.
Further calling the claims of The Little Things actor “bull***t,” Scott, who spoke to Variety, also added, “They acted the moment—it didn’t happen.”
The House of Gucci filmmaker’s words come following Washington stating to Gayety during an interview that he had kissed a man “full on the lips.” However, it was cut from the film as the makers were not ready for it, per the Oscar-winner actor.
Per Denzel Washington, in the movie, he soon kills the same man after five minutes, adding, “It’s the kiss of death.”
An even more interesting turn was noticed during the recently held red carpet event of Gladiator 2, on November 19, 2024. Here an off-camera person is heard stating that the team had even gone back and looked for the sequence; however, even they confirmed that the kiss never took place.
Per reports, the script of Gladiator 2 mentions that Denzel’s character has had previous relationships with men.
During the same event, the Remember the Titans actor maintained that the kiss had happened; however, this time he stated that it was just a “peck,” adding that he kissed the character on the hand and then killed him.
Meanwhile, even the lead, Paul Mescal, claimed that his character of Lucius kisses Pedro Pascal’s character on the forehead. However, even that was cut from the film, even though the director had approved of it.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, the All of Us Strangers actor mentioned that he did it in one of the shots. Afterward, Mescal mentioned that he spoke to Ridley Scott through radio in the video village, asking the filmmaker if he liked it or not.
After a moment of “radio silence,” the filmmaker responded, “‘I’m afraid I did,” per Mescal.
Talking about the kiss between Mescal and Pascal, Scott stated to CinemaBlend that although he doesn’t remember why the sequence was included in the movie, he assured that fans will get to see it in the director’s cut.
Gladiator 2 will be released on November 22, 2024.