{"id":165163,"date":"2025-04-29T16:54:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/terrence-howard-rejected-marvin-gaye-biopic-because-he-didnt-want-to-kiss-a-man\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T16:54:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T16:54:38","slug":"terrence-howard-rejected-marvin-gaye-biopic-because-he-didnt-want-to-kiss-a-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/29\/terrence-howard-rejected-marvin-gaye-biopic-because-he-didnt-want-to-kiss-a-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Terrence Howard Rejected Marvin Gaye Biopic Because He Didn\u2019t Want to Kiss a Man"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"has-dropcap\"><strong>Terrence Howard,<\/strong> the Oscar-nominated actor who once claimed that <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/people\/terrence-howard-thinks-1x1-2-has-a-secret-system-called-terryology-and-spends-17-hours-a-day-making-nameless-plastic-structures-10502365.html\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/people\/terrence-howard-thinks-1x1-2-has-a-secret-system-called-terryology-and-spends-17-hours-a-day-making-nameless-plastic-structures-10502365.html&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/people\/terrence-howard-thinks-1x1-2-has-a-secret-system-called-terryology-and-spends-17-hours-a-day-making-nameless-plastic-structures-10502365.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">one times one equals two<\/a>, has found another thing he can\u2019t compute: kissing a man onscreen.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <strong>Bill Maher<\/strong> on the host\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tUe_guLI7Ss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Club Random<\/em> podcast<\/a>, Howard said that the \u201cbiggest mistake\u201d of his career was turning down the lead role in a potential <strong>Smokey Robinson<\/strong> biopic, something he did because he was already in talks with <em>Empire<\/em> cocreator <strong>Lee Daniels<\/strong> about playing another musician.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">That would be \u201cSexual Healing\u201d and \u201cWhat\u2019s Going On\u201d singer Marvin Gaye. Though Gaye had straight relationships\u2014he married twice before his death at age 44\u2014he\u2019s also faced speculation about his sexuality. \u201cI was over at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/style\/story\/music-impresario-quincy-jones-91-is-dead?srsltid=AfmBOooKjEMcQjOkdQRJuVNNPXpURPVOIfkyuU9_otAHtjpvbsERUM8L\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Quincy Jones<\/a>\u2019s house,\u201d Howard told Maher, \u201cand I\u2019m asking Quincy, \u2018I\u2019m hearing rumors that Marvin was gay.\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Was he gay?\u2019 And Quincy\u2019s like, \u2018Yes.\u2019\u201d (In a 2018 interview with <em><a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/quincy-jones-in-conversation.html\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/quincy-jones-in-conversation.html&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vulture.com\/article\/quincy-jones-in-conversation.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vulture<\/a>,<\/em> Jones alleged that Gaye was one of several famous men who slept with Marlon Brando: \u201cHe\u2019d fuck anything. Anything! He\u2019d fuck a mailbox. James Baldwin. Richard Pryor. Marvin Gaye.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Once Howard learned this information, he could no longer entertain the idea of following through with the project. \u201cThey would\u2019ve wanted to do that, and I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do that,\u201d said the actor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Maher then said, \u201cYou mean you couldn\u2019t kiss a guy onscreen in a movie?\u201d Howard replied, \u201cNo, because I don\u2019t fake it. That would fuck me. I\u2019d cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Howard maintained that he bowed out of the project because he knew he wouldn\u2019t be able to fully \u201cplay that character 100%\u2014I can\u2019t surrender myself to a place that I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">The actor\u2019s comments echoed controversial remarks that he made on the <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/wilson-cruz-unleashes-terrence-howard-191632262.html\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/wilson-cruz-unleashes-terrence-howard-191632262.html&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/wilson-cruz-unleashes-terrence-howard-191632262.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><em>PBD Podcast<\/em><\/a> earlier this month. \u201cI\u2019ve lost businesses because I don\u2019t bend over in that way. I don\u2019t compromise. I don\u2019t play gay roles. I don\u2019t kiss a man,\u201d said the <em>Iron Man<\/em> star. \u201cI don\u2019t do that shit because the man card means everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">There have been multiple <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2012\/11\/lenny-kravitz-to-play-marvin-gaye-in-julien-temple-film-376953\/\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/deadline.com\/2012\/11\/lenny-kravitz-to-play-marvin-gaye-in-julien-temple-film-376953\/&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2012\/11\/lenny-kravitz-to-play-marvin-gaye-in-julien-temple-film-376953\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">attempted Marvin Gaye biopics<\/a> over the years, involving stars like <strong>Lenny Kravitz<\/strong> and <em>Law &amp; Order<\/em>\u2019s <strong>Jesse L. Martin,<\/strong> as well as <em>Straight Outta Compton<\/em> filmmaker <strong>F. Gary Gray.<\/strong> <em>Vanity Fair<\/em> has reached out to reps for Daniels for comment on Howard\u2019s version of events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Elsewhere on the podcast, Howard revealed that he was on board with <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> until the president carried out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/donald-trump-says-no-price-tag-will-stop-mass-deportation?srsltid=AfmBOoph4RXLvNEMTUVUmKD1thr5ExcPacEYo1fRran0Or1gO4Oc8Qzm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mass deportations<\/a>\u2014in the exact way Trump said he would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/trump-plans-to-use-18th-century-alien-enemies-act-for-mass-deportations?srsltid=AfmBOoooHhVvJxHMqSzhXmGyiNkMRUuYwyY98EQOOWcgXtDy4zeaLvqh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">while running for reelection<\/a>. \u201cI was all in his corner,\u201d Howard said. But \u201cthat right there, that hit me. I was like, Dude, you can\u2019t do that to somebody\u2019s family. You cannot do that. Bring them home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Maher, who has received criticism from figures <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/hollywood\/story\/bill-maher-thinks-larry-davids-harsh-jokes-about-him-are-kind-of-insulting-to-6-million-dead-jews?srsltid=AfmBOordjfSS7rCkqThBEmRLpeth4YRIRqAOla5P9w-7sPhayY2AaHQb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">such as <strong>Larry David<\/strong><\/a> for praising Trump as \u201cgracious and measured\u201d after visiting with the president late last month, agreed with Howard\u2019s stance. \u201cYou just can\u2019t send American citizens\u2026right to a prison, and not just a prison\u2014a gulag,\u201d Maher said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Want more off-the-cuff remarks from Howard? You\u2019re in luck. The actor recently told <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2025\/04\/17\/terrence-howard-expose-hollywood-new-podcast\/\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2025\/04\/17\/terrence-howard-expose-hollywood-new-podcast\/&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2025\/04\/17\/terrence-howard-expose-hollywood-new-podcast\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><em>TMZ<\/em><\/a> that he plans to launch his own Hollywood-centered podcast, which he described as a \u201cstudio\u2019s nightmare and every actor\u2019s wet dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/hollywood\/story\/terrence-howard-rejected-marvin-gaye-biopic-because-he-didnt-want-to-kiss-a-man\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Terrence Howard, the Oscar-nominated actor who once claimed that one times one equals two, has found another thing he can\u2019t compute: kissing a man onscreen. Speaking to Bill Maher on the host\u2019s Club Random podcast, Howard said that the \u201cbiggest mistake\u201d of his career was turning down the lead role in a potential Smokey Robinson [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2960,11334,3593,11335,75,2227,2249,5459,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-165163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrity","8":"tag-bill-maher","9":"tag-lee-daniels","10":"tag-lgbtq","11":"tag-marvin-gaye","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-podcasts","14":"tag-quincy-jones","15":"tag-terrence-howard","16":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}