In a recent visit to Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Terrence Howard claimed he’d rather slice off his lips than kiss another man for a role.
Around the 1:18:50 mark of the nearly two-hour episode, seen below, Maher suggested Howard is “this generation’s Billy Dee Williams” and should play his son in a movie. This led Howard to reveal “the biggest mistake” of his career: turning down the chance to portray Smokey Robinson in a biopic.
“He wanted me to play his life, and I just had conversations with Lee Daniels about playing Marvin Gaye,” he explained. “I was being faithful to Lee Daniels because I had given my word… So when Smokey, I had to tell them at the table, and it broke his heart. And Billy Dee would have been one of the other people [involved].”
Maher suggested Gaye’s story was “much more interesting” than Robinson’s, which prompted Howard to share why the planned biopic with Daniels collapsed.
“I was over at Quincy Jones’ house, and I’m not dropping names, I’m just giving credibility to what I’m about to say… I’m asking Quincy, ‘I’m hearing rumors that Marvin was was gay,'” he recalled. “Quincy was like, ‘Yes.’ … They would have wanted to do that and I wouldn’t have been able to do that.” Maher asked if that factored into Howard’s decision, which he confirmed.
“No,” he replied. “I don’t fake it. … That would fuck me, I would cut my lips off. … If I kiss some man, I would cut my lips off.” Howard emphasized he’s “fine” with homosexuality; he just can’t portray a gay character. “I can’t play that character 100 percent,” he added. “I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand.”
Howard’s recent podcast appearance follows shortly after his interview on The PBD Podcast where he claimed Diddy wanted to sleep with him. According to Howard, they met after Diddy sought acting advice, but when he showed up for their meeting, something felt off. After describing the situation to his assistant, they told him, “I think he’s trying to fuck you.” Howard says he broke all contact with Diddy following this encounter.
