Oscar-nominated actor says he’d ‘cut his lips off’ if he kissed a man on-screen
The US actor was in talks to play Motown music legend Marvin Gaye.
Terrence Howard has declared he would rather ‘cut off his lips’ than kiss a man for a movie role.
The US star, 56, was talking about declining the opportunity to star as Marvin Gaye in a biopic, which would have apparently required it – ‘and I wouldn’t have been able to do that’.
Appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, the Empire actor began by revealing the ‘biggest mistake’ of his career was turning down the chance to portray Smokey Robinson in a biopic, a part the musician had personally asked him to play.
However, he declined the Robinson role because he had ‘just had conversations with [director] Lee Daniels about playing Marvin Gaye’ in a separate biopic.
Howard, who previously appeared in Marvel’s Iron Man, says he was ‘being faithful’ to Daniels and their talks by not pursuing the project with Robinson – even if it broke the Miracles star’s heart, as he claims.
But he then revealed he ended up turning down the Marvin Gaye biopic after all because music legend Quincy Jones ‘confirmed’ to him rumours that I Heard It Through the Grapevine icon Gaye was gay.
The Empire star revealed he was in discussions to play music legend Marvin Gaye in a Lee Daniels-directed biopic (Picture: FOX Image Collection via Getty Images) However he pulled out after Quincy Jones ‘confirmed’ to him rumours that Gaye was gay (Picture: Getty)‘I was over at Quincy Jones’ house and I’m asking Quincy, “I’m hearing rumours that Marvin was gay,” and I’m like, “Was he gay?”’ Howard recalled. ‘And Quincy’s like, “Yes”.’
Howard then said he ‘could not’ star in the movie after hearing that because he ‘couldn’t fake it’.
‘They would’ve wanted to do that, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that,’ he said of portraying a gay man in Gaye, and being required to kiss a male co-star onscreen.
‘That would f**k me,’ Howard added. ‘I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.’
‘I would cut my lips off’ Howard declared of kissing a male co-star, but said it was because he ‘couldn’t fake it’ (Picture: Getty)Host Maher said he wouldn’t go as far as Howard but could understand his discomfort, commenting: ‘It does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man.’
Howard also clarified that it was more about his commitment to the role as an actor than his view on sexuality.
‘I can’t play that character 100 percent. I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand,’ he insisted.
Gaye was married twice to women: producer Berry Gordy’s sister Anna and Janis Hunter, with whom he shared children, Nona and Frankie.
He adopted son Marvin III with Anna, who was the biological son of her 16-year-old niece, Denise.
Gaye, who had a string of hits including I Heard it Through the Grapevine and Sexual Healing, was married twice to women in his lifetime and never addressed any rumours of homosexuality (Picture: Jim Britt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)After earning the titles ‘Prince of Soul’ and ‘Prince of Motown’ with hits like How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You), Let’s Get It On and Sexual Healing, he was shot and killed by his father aged 44 after intervening in a fight between his parents.
In a separate interview on the PBD podcast, Howard recently claimed that Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs once made sexual advances towards him while he was offering his services as an acting coach.
However, the Oscar winner cut contact after his assistant suggested that, in his opinion, the music artist was ‘trying to f**k’ Howard during their hangouts.
‘I was like: “Oh, okay. Now I get it.” So now, no more communication. Now you know to be hands-off with somebody,’ he said.
Howard has recently claimed Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs also made sexual advances towards him (Picture: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)He further claimed that he had always strived to ‘be the man in the room, and that’s always been my whole thing’ as he spoke about his ‘man card’.
‘I’ve lost businesses because I don’t bend over in that way,’ he added. ‘I don’t compromise. I don’t play gay roles. I don’t kiss a man. I don’t do that s**t because the man card means everything.’
Combs, who is currently awaiting trial for charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution – which he denies – has been held in police custody in jail since September.
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