Denzel Washington Kissed a Man in ‘Gladiator II,’ But the Scene Was Cut: Report

Getty and Heavy Denzel Washington.

Actor Denzel Washington kissed a man in the upcoming movie “Gladiator II,” but the filmmakers “took it out,” according to a new interview the actor gave to Gayety.

Gayety asked Washington “How gay is the Roman Empire?” in an interview about the upcoming Ridley Scott movie, which will be in theaters on November 22. According to Washington, the answer is “very,” Gayety reported, adding that the star plays Macrinus, who is a “Roman businessman who has amassed enormous wealth thanks to his acumen and brutal ambition.”

“I kissed the man in the film, but they took it” out, Washington told Gayety. “I guess they’re not ready for that.” He added to the site, “I killed him about 5 minutes later. The kiss of death.” Gayety reported that the “gay kiss” was “cut” from the film.

A Forehead Kiss Between Actors Paul Mescal & Pedro Pascal Was Also Cut From ‘Gladiator II,’ a Report Says

Also cut from the movie: A forehead kiss between actors Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. However, according to Cinema Blend, it’s likely to make the video-on-demand director’s cut.

“I didn’t tell Ridley I was gonna do it. And then I was nervous after we did it because I thought he was going to (expletive) 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,” Mescal told Cinema Blend.

CinemaBlend asked Scott why he cut the forehead kiss, and he responded, “I can’t remember… I can’t remember. The director’s cut.”

Denzel Washington Has Been Married to Wife Pauletta Washington for Decades

GettyDenzel Washington and Pauletta Washington.

In real life, Washington is married to wife Pauletta Washington.

According to People, they met on the set of the 1977 movie “Wilma,” which was his first film. They were married six years later and have four children together, People reported

“You can buy a house, but that doesn’t make it a home,” Denzel told People Magazine in 2018. “And not to say a man can’t make a home a home, but my wife has made our house a home, and raised these beautiful kids and protected them and sacrificed for them, she did the heavy lifting.”

In 2019, when Washington received a life achievement award, he gushed praise for his wife of many years, calling her the “most important person in my life” and joking that they were “nine when we got together.”

“40 years,” he told People of their relationship. “40 years of sacrifice. 40 years of forgiveness. She taught me about faith, spirituality, love, real love, unwavering love, in spite of myself.”

“I would not be alive without Pauletta Washington,” he added to People. “I wouldn’t survive.”

Washington also praised the couple’s kids, according to People Magazine, and said, “I wouldn’t know what it would mean not to have her by my side.”