Thandiwe Newton is hitting back, denying a report that she was fired from Magic Mike after getting into a heated fight with Channing Tatumover Will Smith‘s Oscar slap.
The 49-year-old actress made headlines when The Sun dropped a bombshell report that she was axed from the film after getting into an altercation with its leading man — but according to Thandiwe and production, it’s simply not true.
“This report is completely inaccurate,” a spokesperson for Thandiwe stated. Warner Bros. seems to back her up, although she reportedly has been replaced as the movie’s leading lady bySalma Hayek.
According to a Warner Bros. rep, Thandiwe left the movie on her own accord “to deal with family matters.”
The Sun reports that Thandiwe and Channing got into a screaming match over Will slappingChris Rockat the 94th annual Academy Awards last month. Their alleged onset argument in London led to Channing speeding off in his car and declaring, “I am not working with her anymore.”
“They fell out over the debacle at the Oscars,” a crewmember claimed. “I was on set. I watched her and watched him. They were in and out of the house where we were filming having this confrontation.”
“It was a tense exchange of words, but suddenly it escalated – Channing got into this car and he disappeared,” another insider said.
“People looked at each other and thought, ‘Wait, we’re supposed to be filming?’” the source continued, adding, “it’s his movie, so she’s off the movie.”
They reportedly lost almost two weeks of shooting and will have to reshoot the scenes that Thandiwe was in.
“Channing Tatum is the producer and number one on set. Thandiwe Newton is the number two star. But 11 days into shooting and it’s all over,” added a crewmember.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance is the third installment to the male stripping franchise. Of course, Channing has plenty of experience as he was a real-life stripper before making it big in Hollywood.
He has yet to comment on the reported blow-up with Thandiwe.