After just 11 days of filming, comedian Thandie Newton was dropped from the cast of ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ following a heated argument with the film’s lead actor and producer, Channing Tatum.
According to British website The Sun, the altercation took place in early April over Will Smith’s slap at the Oscars. Witnesses present reportedly claimed that the dispute reached an “incredibly vicious” level, to the point that Channing Tatum left the set furious, before driving off in his car.
It was not specified what were the positions of one and the other about the slap of Will Smith.
“There was a very tense exchange between them, before it all escalated. Channing got into his car and disappeared,” said a source, noting in passing that the actress behaved like a diva on the set before the argument broke out. The director, Steven Soderbergh, would have tried to calm things down, without success. “He tried hard, but he is a discreet man”, continues this source.
As the lead actor and producer of Magic Mike’s Last Dance, Channing Tatum reportedly made it clear to broadcaster, HBO Max, that he would refuse to work with Thandie Newton any longer. The American site Variety confirmed that the actress had since been replaced by Salma Hayek.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the third film in the Magic Mike saga, which began with a first film in 2012 and a second installment in 2015. This third opus will not be released in cinemas, but directly on the HBO Max streaming platform. Which is still not available in France.