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Denzel Washington's bisexual Gladiator II character had a kissing scene with another man, but was cut because "they weren’t ready for that yet"
Gladiator 2 is aiming to be as historically accurate as possible, but not when it comes to men kissing other men it seems.
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When in Rome do as the Romans do, the saying goes. But when it comes to Paramount's historical epic Gladiator II, that only goes so far.
Denzel Washington, who plays the slave-turned-arena master Macrinus, has revealed that there was a scene where he kissed another man, but that it was cut in post-production - and he sees the reason as clear.
"I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out, they cut it,” Washington told Gayety. "I think they got chicken. I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet."
(Cue Michael J. Fox's Back to the Future quote "I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it.")
In the ancient Roman times depicted in Gladiator, historians believe that men frequently had sexual relationships with other men - while still being based on complicated power dynamics that exist in other forms today. If you'd like to read more on this, I recommend Craig A. Williams' book Roman Homosexuality.
Back on the subject, Washington's quote isn't meant to infer there was a formal relationship between Washington's Gladiator II character and this as-yet-unnamed other character. In fact, Washington says his character killed the other soon after. "I killed him about five minutes later. It’s Gladiator. It’s the kiss of death," Washington added, referring to the symbolic gesture given by some before killing them (or having them killed).
While Washington didn't specify who he believed made the decision to cut the scene, Washington has a long-time relationship with Gladiator II (and the original Gladiator) director Ridley Scott - having appeared in his 2007 film American Gangster, and starring in five films directed by his late brother Tony Scott (all of which Ridley Scott was a producer).
This cut follows news that there was a forehead kiss in Gladiator II between Pedro Pascal's character and Paul Mescal's character filmed but did not make the final cut.
While Washington has not played a gay character before, Scott confirmed to the New York Times' Kyle Buchanan that Washington's Gladiator II character has a "twinkle" of bisexuality. Washington did famously play a lawyer who overcame his own prejudices about homosexuality to represent a man dying of AIDS in 1993's Philadelphia.
Gladiator II opens in theaters November 22.
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