Thandiwe Newton has denied reports she was exiting the upcoming "Magic Mike" film due to an argument with Channing Tatum regarding the Will Smith Oscars incident.
Newton was announced as part of the cast to the third installment of the hit film series, titled "Magic Mike's Last Dance," but 11 days into filming, it emerged she had stepped away from the project.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, a Warner Bros. representative said Newton was leaving due to 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 read.
The Sun reported Wednesday that Newton had exited the film because she and Tatum had gotten into a heated argument about the controversy over Will Smith hitting Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars. According to the outlet, citing witnesses, the argument on set escalated to "astonishing" levels before Tatum drove off in a car.
One crew member who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity recalled the reported argument.
"They fell out over the debacle at the Oscars," the witness said. "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 continued. "People looked at each other and thought, Wait, we're supposed to be filming. 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."
It has since been confirmed the character originally played by Newton will now be played by Oscar nominee Salma Hayek.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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