Terrence Howard Turned Down Marvin Gaye Biopic Over The Possibility Of Having To Kiss A Man

Actor Terrence Howard recently said he turned down the chance to star in a Marvin Gaye biopic because it might have required him to kiss another man.

The 56-year-old “Empire” star discussed his thoughts during an interview on “Club Random with Bill Maher.” 

Howard said he couldn’t sign on to play singer Smokey Robinson in the biopic because he was already considering playing Marvin Gaye in a different project. But then he changed his mind.

“I was over at Quincy Jones’ house and I’m asking Quincy, ‘I’m hearing rumors that Marvin was gay,’ and I’m like, ‘Was he gay?’ And Quincy’s like, ‘Yes,’” he told Maher. 

“They would’ve wanted to do that, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Howard explained. Maher replied, “You mean you couldn’t kiss a guy on screen in a movie?” prompting the actor to say, “No. Because I don’t fake it. That would f*** me. I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.”

“I can’t play that character 100 percent. I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand,” he added, saying, “It does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man.”

Gaye was married to two women during his life and was not openly gay, but there has been speculation that he was attracted to men, and at least one of his marriages was an attempt to silence those accusations.

The recording artist had the nicknames “Prince of Motown” and “Prince of Soul” and is considered by some to be one of the greatest singers of all time. Gaye was born in 1939 and died in 1984 at the age of 44 after being shot and killed by his father while trying to break up a physical altercation between his parents.

Howard announced his second retirement from acting in 2022. “I’ve been playing pretend for forever,” he shared at the time. “[There’s] no need to play pretend anymore. I’ve done my time.”

The actor was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar in 2006 for his role in “Hustle & Flow.” He also appeared on the big screen in such movies as “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” “Dead Presidents,” “Who’s the Man,” and “Iron Man.”