Denzel Washington Reveals a Gay Kiss Scene Was Cut from ‘Gladiator II’

Denzel Washington is pulling the curtain back on his work in Gladiator II. Speaking with Gaytey, Washington revealed he kissed a man while filming the movie.

Washington was jokingly asked, “How gay is the Roman empire?”

To which he answered: “I actually kissed a man in the film, but they took it out, they cut it, I think they got chicken. I kissed a guy full on the lips, and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet. I killed him about five minutes later. It’s ‘Gladiator.’ It’s the kiss of death.”

You can hear Washington make the reveal below.

The star-studded cast boasts Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.

The long-gestating sequel is directed by Ridley Scott (Napoleon) from a screenplay written by David Scarpa (Napoleon) based on a story penned by Scarpa and Peter Craig. 

Check out the official synopsis:

Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the revered hero Maximus’s death at his uncle’s hands, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Get this Gladiator II pairs Oscar winners Washington and Scott back again. The last time they collaborated was American Gangster, 15 years ago. We all know how that went – amazing, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of magic they muster on this soon-to-be epic sequel.