Thandiwe Newton has denied claims she was fired from her leading role in the new Magic Mike 3 film due to a heated argument with Channing Tatum.
The Westworld actress, 49, recently exited Magic Mike’s Last Dance after just 11 days of filming with Channing, 41, due to a “family matter”.
Thandiwe will reportedly be replaced in the role by Salma Hayek, 55, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Her departure was confirmed by a Warner Bros. spokesperson, who said: “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 came after insiders told The Sun that Thandiwe and Channing got into a huge argument on set over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage at last month’s Oscars.
A source said: “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.”
“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.”
“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 added that all the scenes filmed with Thandiwe will now have to be reshot with Salma.
The film’s director, Steven Soderbergh reportedly did not take a side in the argument.
While Thandiwe has confirmed her exit from the film, the actress has denied her departure was caused by an alleged argument between her and Channing.
A spokesperson for Thandiwe told MailOnline: “This report is completely inaccurate.”
The original Magic Mike movie premiered in 2012 and was loosely based on Channing’s own experience working as a stripper in Tampa, Florida before he rose to fame.
The film’s sequel, Magic Mike XXL, was released in 2015. Channing confirmed he would reprise his role for Magic Mike’s Last Dance in November 2021.
In an interview with People, Channing said he wants the film to be like “the Super Bowl of stripping.”
He said: “I want dancing like we’ve never been able to do in the other two movies, because we had to be honest to what the reality of that world is, which isn’t great dancing.”
Channing also spoke about the importance of the film having a lead female character.
He said: “I want to have an equal, if not even more centralized female character for Mike to really play off of and almost to… I don’t want to say, [to have her] take the baton, but really let the movie be about a female’s experience and not Mike’s experience, because it has been so much about Mike and the guys’ experiences.”
“These movies are very, very female-forward. At least that is our intention.”
Magic Mike’s Last Dance is set to premiere exclusively on HBO Max. The release date has yet to be announced.
