Gay Kiss Removed From Gladiator 2 Reveals Star Denzel Washington

Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2 is making waves in theatres worldwide by taking its audience to Ancient Rome, but it did not do justice to its culture. Recently, Gladiator star Denzel Washington appeared in an interview stating that there was a gay kiss scene of him that got cut out of the film.

According to scholars and literature, Ancient Rome was very accepting towards queers and individuals and celebrated the same sex very proudly. They were very comfortable in their body, identity and sexuality. So Gladiator 2, set around Ancient Rome, had to have this aspect in the film. Emperor Caracalla was depicted as a queer individual, and so was Master of Gladiators Macrinus. However, the actor Denzel Washington claimed that his character has a gay kiss scene in the film, which was cut out in the final cut. 

Upon asking how gay the Roman Empire was, he revealed, “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.”

The reason for cutting out the scene can only come from the director or the producers, who have yet to respond to this claim. However, he believes that they removed the kiss scene since it did not have any solid impact on the overall plot. Denzel’s character in the film had no romantic arc, so the kiss scene would have only been there to portray a power play.

Gladiator 2, directed by Ridley Scott, stars Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. The film takes place years after the events of the first film. Overall, the film is receiving a good response from the audience and the critics.

ALSO READ: Gladiator 2 Movie Review: A Movie of Unending Climaxes.