British director Ridley Scott’s outburst was sparked by Denzel Washington’s claim that a “gay kiss of his” was cut from Gladiator 2.

“But… es” characteristically declared the 87-year-old Scott, who is known not to mince his words.

Washington, who plays Macrinus in the sequel to the 2000 blockbuster, told Gayety that he kissed a male co-star with the scene cut from the film.
“I actually kissed a guy in the movie, but they took it out. They cut it. I think they were… hens.’

“I kissed a guy right on the lips and they, I guess, weren’t ready for it yet,” he added, before joking that in the film he “killed his co-star about five minutes later”, describing it as the “kiss of death”.

But at the film’s recent Hollywood premiere, Scott told Variety: “No, this is m… mes. They never did (they kissed on set). They were reacting to the moment – it didn’t happen.”

Washington has since backtracked, saying: “Really, too bad for nothing… They’re making it an issue. I kissed his hands, touched his lips and killed him.”

Gladiator 2 is showing these days also in Greek cinemas.