Denzel Washington Elaborates On Kissing A Man In Cut Moment From “Gladiator 2”

Denzel Washington provided some further context to his highly-publicized cut kiss from Gladiator II at the premiere of the film in Hollywood on Monday night. “It really is much ado about nothing,” Washington told Deadline at the event. “They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him.”

Washington originally broke the news of the kiss during a recent interview with Gaytey. “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,” he told the outlet.

Director Ridley Scott denied Washington’s claim about the kiss being cut elsewhere on the red carpet. “No, that’s bullsh*t,” Scott told Deadline at the premiere. “They never did. They acted the moment — it didn’t happen.” In addition to the first Gladiator, Scott is best known for his other iconic films Alien, Blade Runner, American Gangster, Thelma & Louise, and more.

Gladiator II will be hitting theaters this Friday, November 22. In addition to Washington, it stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, and Connie Nielsen. The story follows Mescal as the son of characters Maximus and Lucilla from the first film. Check out Denzel Washington’s full comments on the kiss from Gladiator II below.