Thandiwe Newton axed from ‘Magic Mike’ sequel after fight with Channing Tatum over Oscars fiasco
Thandiwe Newton was reportedly fired from the new “Magic Mike” movie after getting into a heated argument on set with Channing Tatum about Will Smith’s infamous Oscars smackdown of Chris Rock.
The feud between Newton, 49, and Tatum, 41, occurred in early April, the Sun reported, and escalated to such “astonishing” and “unimaginably vicious” levels that Tatum stormed off the West London set of “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” and drove off in a car.
The crew had been filming for 11 days before the dramatic turn of events, the report said.
Producers of the sequel ultimately decided to recast Newton’s lead female role, which will now be played by Salma Hayek, according to Variety.
It was unclear from the Sun’s report exactly when the epic dust-up occurred, or what positions Newton and Tatum took in their heated debate.
“Channing Tatum is the producer and number one on set. Thandwie Newton is the number two star. But 11 days into shooting and it’s all over,” a crew member told the British tabloid.
“They fell out over the debacle at the Oscars. 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,” the source reportedly said, adding that Newton behaved like a “diva” on the set before the argument.
Following the dispute, Tatum, who plays Magic Mike, refused to continue working with Newton on the HBO Max film.
“After the row he just went, ‘I am not working with her anymore.’ Him being a producer, it’s his movie, so she’s off the movie,” the source told the Sun.
Director Steven Soderbergh tried to defuse the situation to no avail, the source reportedly said.
“He was trying to calm things down but he’s a very quiet man.”
A spokesperson for the movie studio issued a statement to Variety denying the report and claiming Newton quit the movie for personal reasons.
“Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros. Pictures’ Magic Mike’s Last Dance to deal with family matters,” the statement reportedly read.
Freelance crew members said the production delay had already cost them thousands of dollars in lost wages.
The shakeup came after a “legion of horny, middle-aged women” stormed the set in an effort to get a glimpse of Tatum in costume as an oiled-up male stripper.
“Magic Mike’s Last Dance” is the third installment of the film series. The first two films were massively popular, grossing nearly $300 million worldwide.
