‘Kissgate getting juicy’: Ridley Scott disputes Denzel Washington’s ‘Gladiator II’ story

Filmmaker Gladiator II.

Internationally, Gladiator II did the business this past weekend, raking in $87 million ahead of its U.S. release date on Nov. 22. The consensus is that it’s an enjoyable film but doesn’t reach the heights of the 2000 original. Then, again, that was always going to be an unlikely scenario, so who’s fooling who here?

One of the undisputed highlights of the sequel is Washington who appears as the slippery and power-hungry Macrinus. In the film, Macrinus presents himself as sexually fluid and it’s written as such in the script as well. In an interview with “kissed a guy full on the lips,” but the scene was cut in the end. Washington suggested that the powers that be got cold feet and removed it from the final film, though he added it was more like a “kiss of death.”

Washington’s comment attracted a lot of attention from both the press and fans. Everyone wanted to know who dared to remove such a scene from Gladiator II. Variety decided to go straight to the source and asked Scott at the Hollywood premiere if the gay kiss was cut from the movie. Scott replied:

“No, that’s bulls**t. They never did. They acted out the moment – it didn’t happen.”

Washington appeared to walk back his comments too, saying that everyone was making a bigger deal out of it than what it really was. He disclosed how he kissed the man’s hands, pecked him, then killed him, but it was “much ado about nothing.”

This latest revelation fired up X s who couldn’t help but weigh on the drama. One wrote: “Kissgate getting juicy.” Others questioned if someone’s lying, while also pondering how Scott’s comments both confirm and deny the scene. Look, the bottom line here is: Did Washington share a kiss with another man and was it filmed? Yes or no. That’s all the people want to know.

It’s become quite the talking point for everyone else on the press tour for the film. Connie Nielsen disputed it was blatant homophobia on the part of anyone, stating a lot of scenes were cut from Gladiator II, including one of her own where Lucilla grieves the loss of a loved one. Producer Michael Pruss tried to diffuse any possible outrage too, explaining how there’s a lot of footage that didn’t end up in the final cut and this is a “non-event” that’s grown several legs and tails since then.

Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see if this conversation fires up again after the U.S. release of the movie. Perhaps someone in the online world will soon start a petition titled “Release the gay cut of Gladiator II.”