Denzel Washington and Sir Ridley Scott seemingly have very different accounts of a certain scene that was supposedly cut from Gladiator II.
Last week, Denzel made headlines when he claimed that he’d filmed a same-sex kiss that didn’t make the final edit of the blockbuster, which hit UK cinemas last week.
“I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out,” the two-time Oscar winner said. “They cut it, I think they got chicken.”
Denzel added: “I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet.”
However, the director has now branded Denzel’s version of events “bullshit”.
“That’s bullshit. They never did [kiss],” Sir Ridley insisted to Variety.
According to the Alien filmmaker: “They acted the moment [but] it didn’t happen.”
Meanwhile, Denzel himself told the same outlet that the media was “making more of it than it was”.
“It really is much ado about nothing,” the Training Day star insisted. “They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him.”
Leading man Paul Mescal previously spoke about another Gladiator II kiss that didn’t make it into the finished film, which came about when he gave a certain co-star a peck during a fight sequence.
Denzel and Paul are both already at the centre of plenty of Oscar buzz following their performances in Gladiator II, which also stars Pedro Pascal, Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn and The White Lotus’ Fred Hechinger.
Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi also appear in the film, reprising their roles from the first movie.
Gladiator II is in UK cinemas now.