Thandiwe Newton has exited her role as the female lead in Magic Mike’s Last Dance and will be replaced by Salma Hayek.
“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,” a Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday to The Wrap.
But there may be more to Newton’s departure. According to The Sun, she was fired after a heated argument with the film’s star and producer, Channing Tatum, over Will Smith’s infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars.
“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,” a source told the outlet. “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.”
Related Story: Thandiwe Newton Makes Tearful Apology to ‘Darker-Skinned Actresses’
The movie is currently filming on location in London, and a source said director Steven Soderbergh “didn’t take a side.”
Witnesses said Tatum stormed off in a car after the on-set exchange with Newton.
The dispute took place in early April and sources said film crew members received emails informing them that shooting had been postponed for 24 hours. Hayek was then added to the cast, and Newton’s scenes will reportedly be reshot.
A spokesperson for Newton then told the Daily Mail that the reports of tension on set are “completely inaccurate.”
The first Magic Mike movie premiered in 2012 and was based on Tatum’s experience working as a stripper in Florida. It was followed by Magic Mike XXL, with the two films grossing nearly $300 million globally at the box office.
There’s also been a Magic Mike Live stage show that’s played in London, Las Vegas, Berlin & Australia Magic Mike’s Last Dance will be available at a later date on HBO Max.
Newton was previously credited as Thandie Newton. Last year, she changed her name to its original spelling, saying three decades ago it was misspelled in her first film.
