Terrence Howard Refused to Play Marvin Gaye Over Gay Kiss: “I Would Cut My Lips Off”

In case you didn’t know, Terrence Howard, the Oscar-nominated actor known for “Hustle & Flow,” and “Empire,” semi-retired from acting and decided to invent his own form of mathematics, “Terryology.”

I’m not joking. Howard claims to have developed a new form of mathematics where 1 x 1 = 2. He believes traditional math is flawed and spent years creating his own version. He even built models with plastic pieces to demonstrate his theory. Terryology went on to confuse mathematicians worldwide.

Before Terryology, and his other infamous inventions, which included building new hydrogen technology to replace flight, Howard was a big deal in acting. In fact, he’s now telling Bill Maher that he came very close to portraying soul legend Marvin Gaye in a biopic, but one pivotal revelation ultimately led him to walk away from the part.

“I was over at Quincy Jones’ house and I’m asking Quincy, ‘I’m hearing rumors that Marvin was gay,’ and I’m like, ‘Was he gay?’” Howard recalled. “And Quincy’s like, ‘Yes.’”

That moment changed everything for Howard.

“They would’ve wanted me to do that, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” he said, referring to the possibility of portraying Gaye’s sexuality onscreen.

“That would fuck me,” he added. “I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.”

Howard was quick to clarify his position: “It does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man. I just can’t play that character 100 percent,” he said. “I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand.”

So, there you have it, the only grown man brave enough to declare that 1 x 1 doesn’t equal 1, but rather 2 — instantly becoming both a philosopher and a math teacher's worst nightmare — is absolutely not homophobic, and that’s despite threatening to cut off his lips if a man were to ever kiss them.