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Terrence Howard appeared on the April 27, 2025, episode of the Club Random with Bill Maher podcast, where he discussed a past opportunity to star in a Marvin Gaye biopic directed by Lee Daniels. On April 28, 2025, The Art of Dialogue shared a clip from the episode on X, where Howard claimed he turned down the role after finding out that Marvin Gaye was "gay".
"Yeah, I would cut my lips off. If I had to kiss a man, I would cut my lips off," the actor added.
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During the aforementioned podcast episode, Terrence Howard revealed that he turned down the offer to play Smokey Robinson's role in his biopic for the Lee Daniels film because he had already given his word to Daniels. Although initially excited about the project, Howard shared that it never happened.
Howard then recounted hearing rumors about Marvin Gaye being a homosexual man and the biopic being centered around it. He then went to producer Quincy Jones for confirmation, and the latter confirmed Howard's doubts.
"I'm asking Quincy. Um, I'm hearing rumors that Marvin was gay .. and I'm like, 'Was he gay?' And Quincy is like, yes," he added.
This revelation made Howard change his mind and back out of Daniels' biopic. He further explained that as a heterosexual man himself, he felt he could not authentically portray a gay character. When show host Bill Maher asked if he simply couldn't kiss a man on screen, Howard responded candidly.
"No, cuz I don’t fake it... And that that would f**k me," he remarked.
Further clarifying his stance, Howard added that his decision was not rooted in homophobia.
"Do what you love to do, but don’t do it at me... And I can’t play that character, right? 100%. I can’t, I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand, " Howard explained.
Terrence Howard shares his experience of working with Diddy, says he lost "businesses" because he doesn't play gay roles
During an appearance on the PBD Podcast on April 4, 2025, Terrence Howard alleged that music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs made inappropriate advances toward him.
During the interview, Howard recounted how Combs invited him under the pretense of seeking acting lessons, but the situation quickly turned uncomfortable. He described the experience, explaining that Combs' intentions appeared to be less professional than initially suggested.
"Puffy [nickname for Diddy] invited me for weeks, asking me to come and teach him how to – he wanted me to be his acting coach for a while. [I] go there, and he’s sitting around just looking. I’m like, ‘Okay, what’s the material you want to work on?’ He’s just looking at me", the actor said
He further added:
"Then next thing you know, okay, ‘Hey, will you help me? I wanna hear your music.’ So, I come over there and I’m playing the music."
During the aforementioned PBD Podcast episode, Terrence Howard further added that following this encounter with Diddy, he decided to cut off all contact with him. The 56-year-old, known for his performances in films like Hustle & Flow, Crash, and Iron Man, and the hit TV series Empire, also shared that he was very selective about the characters he played.
In fact, the decision to turn down the role of Marvin Gaye (as he mentioned during the Club Random podcast) due to the singer's rumored sexuality wasn't an isolated incident.
Reflecting on his career choices during the aforementioned PBD Podcast episode, Howard explained that he had consistently refused roles that would require him to portray a homosexual character, believing that doing so would compromise his sense of masculinity.
"I’ve lost businesses because I don’t bend over in that way. I don’t compromise. I don’t play gay roles. I don’t kiss a man. I don’t do that s**t because the man card means everything," Howard remarked.
As per IMDb, Terrence Howard's latest film appearance was in the 2024 movie titled Crescent City. The actor also appeared in the 2024 series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.
