Thandiwe Newton has been reportedly fired from the new Magic Mike movie after getting into a heated argument on set with Channing Tatum over Will Smith’s infamous Chris Rock Oscar hit.
The feud between Newton, 49, and Tatum, 41, took place in early April, The Sun reported, and escalated to such an “amazing” and “unimaginably vicious” level that Tatum canceled the set of “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” in western London stormed away in a car.
The crew had been filming for 11 days prior to the dramatic turn of events, the report said.
The sequel’s producers eventually decided to recast Newton’s female lead, who Variety says will now be played by Salma Hayek.
The Sun’s report didn’t say exactly when the epic dust cloud took place or what positions Newton and Tatum took in their heated debate.
The altercation escalated to a very high level, resulting in Channing Tatum driving off in a car and leaving the set of Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Click News & Media / BACKGRID
“Channing Tatum is the producer and number one on set. Thandie Newton is star number two. But after 11 days of shooting, it’s all over,” a crew member told the British tabloid.
“They argued about the Oscars debacle. I was on set. I watched her and watched him. They went in and out of the house where we were filming this confrontation.
“It was a tense exchange of words, but suddenly it escalated. Channing got in that car and left,” the source reportedly said, adding that Newton was acting like a “diva” on set before the argument.
Following the argument, Tatum, who plays Magic Mike, refused to continue working with Newton on the HBO Max film.
According to Variety.Click News and Media / BACKGRID, the producers decided to recast Thandiwe Newton’s female lead to be played by Salma Hayek
“After the fight he just said, ‘I don’t work with her anymore.’ Since he’s a producer, it’s his movie so she’s out of the movie,” the source told The Sun.
Director Steven Soderbergh tried to defuse the situation but to no avail, the source reportedly said.
“He’s tried to calm things down, but he’s a very quiet man.”
A spokesman for the film studio issued a statement to Variety refuting the report and claiming that Newton left the film for personal reasons.
The director, Steven Soderbergh, tried to defuse the situation, but it wouldn’t resolve the feud between Thandiwe Newton and Channing Tatum, the source allegedly said. Click News & Media / BACKGRID
“Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to retire from producing Warner Bros. Pictures’ Magic Mike’s Last Dance to attend to family matters,” the statement said.
Freelance crew members said the production delay has already cost them thousands of dollars in lost wages.
The convulsion came after a “legion of horny middle-aged women” stormed the set to get a glimpse of Tatum as an oiled-up male stripper.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the third installment in the film series. The two films were hugely popular, grossing nearly $300 million worldwide.