Get the latest gossip

Terrence Howard Turned Down A Lee Daniels-Directed Marvin Gaye Biopic Because He “Could Not” Kiss A Man: “I Would Cut My Lips Off”

Terrence Howard said he turned down a Lee Daniels-helmed biopic about Marvin Gaye because it would require him to explore his rumored homosexuality.

Speaking with Bill Maher on his Club Random podcast, the Empire star recalled “the biggest mistake I made in my career,” which was rejecting Smokey Robinson’s offer to play him in a biopic after the King of Motown invited him out to dinner. Howard said the news “broke [Robinson’s] heart,” while host Maher remarked that the exploration of Gaye’s life would have been “much more interesting” because “there’s a lot more drama,” given the What’s Going On artist’s killing by his father. Most recently, Deadline exclusively reported in 2021 that Warner Bros. had landed an Allen Hughes-directed project with producers Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine and Andrew Lazar from a script by poet-playwright Marcus Gardley(2023’s The Color Purple).

Get the Android app