Terrence Howard declined the role of Marvin Gaye in a biopic directed by Lee Daniels due to personal convictions about portraying a gay character. Howard, who was approached to play the legendary singer, cited a conversation with Quincy Jones that revealed Marvin Gaye's sexuality, which led to Howard's decision against taking the role. He emphasized that his decision stemmed from a desire to stay authentic to his craft rather than any homophobic sentiment. Howard expressed that he could not fully immerse himself in a character whose experiences he did not understand, such as kissing a man. Ultimately, the biopic project did not proceed, and Lee Daniels later reflected on his negative experience with the 'Empire' series, which he co-created with Howard.

Terrence Howard refused to play Marvin Gaye in a biopic after Quincy Jones informed him about Gaye's sexuality, which conflicted with Howard's personal beliefs on acting authenticity.

Howard's decision was not based on homophobia but on his inability to convincingly portray a character whose experiences were beyond his understanding, such as engaging in a same-sex kiss.

The actor made a strong statement about his commitment to authenticity, stating he would rather 'cut his lips off' than fake a romantic scene with a man.

Despite Howard's initial involvement, the biopic directed by Lee Daniels was never produced, partly due to Howard's withdrawal from the project.

Lee Daniels, who worked with Howard on 'Empire', later shared his own challenging experiences with the series, hinting at broader difficulties in his collaborations.

Terrence Howard says he turned down portraying Marvin Gaye for a very personal reason.

The 56-year-old actor said that he was once in the talks to depict the legendary singer in a biopic directed by Lee Daniels, but backed out after Quincy Jones told him that Marvin was gay.

“They would’ve wanted to do that, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that. Because I don’t fake it. That would f–k me. I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off,” Terrence said while on Bill Maher‘s “Club Random” podcast.

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The Empire star insisted that his aversion to depicting a gay man was not due to bigotry, but rather the commitment to stay truthful to his craft.

“It does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man. I can’t play that character 100 percent. I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand,” he added.

The biopic from Lee Daniels, who is also a co-creator of Empire, never ended up getting made.

Last year, Lee talked about why getting involved in Empire was a negative experience for him.