Terrence Howard refused to play Marvin Gaye because 'he didn't want to kiss a man'

The South African

30-04-2025

American actor Terrence Howard revealed that he turned down the opportunity to portray Marvin Gaye because he was uncomfortable with the idea of kissing another man.
The 56-year-old actor admitted that rejecting Smokey Robinson's request for him to play his character was the 'biggest mistake' of his career.
At that time, Howard, known for his role in 'Empire,' was already in discussions with director Lee Daniels about playing Gaye, known for the hit song 'Sexual Healing.' During an appearance on Bill Maher's podcast, 'Club Random,' the actor explained that he backed out of the Gaye project after learning how the singer's sexuality would be portrayed, as per Entertainment Weekly .
'I was over at Quincy Jones's house and I'm asking Quincy, 'I'm hearing rumours that Marvin was gay' and I'm like, 'Was he gay?' And Quincy's like, 'Yes.''
'They would've wanted to do that, and I wouldn't have been able to do that,' Howard said.
Maher asked the Iron Man star if he would kiss a guy on screen in a movie, to which Howard replied, 'No, because I don't fake it.'
'That would f**k me,' he added. 'I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.'
Terrence Howard insisted that he was not homophobic but felt he couldn't play the Marvin Gaye character to perfection.
'it does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man,' he said.
'I can't play that character 100%. I can't surrender myself to a place that I don't understand.'
Marvin Gaye, a two-time Grammy winner, was shot and killed by his father in 1984.
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