While many of us would enjoy the chance to make out with the most well-known Hollywood stars, such as Colin Firth, Orlando Bloom, or Leonardo DiCaprio, there are celebrities who have felt the exact opposite. And the reason could be anything from bad breath to fear of contracting an incurable disease, many actors have flat-out refused to lock lips with their co-stars — despite the fact that their jobs were on the line, as was probably the case for many.
Though we’ll never know the extent of the passionately intimate moments we may have missed as a result of their decisions, at the end of the day, it was their choice, and we can’t be too upset about that. So, which celebrities refused to kiss their co-stars? Here they are, and be warned: some of them may be your favorites.
#1 Denzel Washington denied an on-screen kiss to avoid offending fans.
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There are undoubtedly a lot of people who would have jumped at the chance to kiss Julia Roberts for her 1993 film “The Pelican Brief.” Denzel Washington, however, didn’t seem to be interested in kissing Roberts, thus he opted out of a kissing scene.
The actor reportedly denied filming the scene with Roberts because he did not want to engage with Hollywood’s prejudiced beauty norms and alienate followers. The Oscar winner had this to say about skipping out on the cinematic kiss: “Black women are not often seen as objects of desire on film. And they have always been my core audience.”
#2 Fawad Khan has no interest to kiss other actors on screen.
Source: Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images
To keep his chastity, Pakistani star Fawad Khan reportedly declined to kiss Alia Bhatt in the 2016 film “Kapoor & Sons.” Bhatt then opened up about her experiences on set with Khan, saying that he was frequently jumpy and uncomfortable. “There was a kiss in the film with Fawad. When we did the scene, it was decided that we would cheat-kiss,” According to the Deccan Chronicle, she revealed. “Still, every time I would go near his face, he would flinch. I had to keep reassuring him I wouldn’t compromise his chastity.”
Despite his refusal to kiss Bhatt, Khan seemed to be open to the possibility of being intimate on camera in the future, according to the site.
#3 Kimberly McCullough was just 14 years old when she refused to kiss another actor.
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Kimberly McCullough was a 14-year-old actor who had only experienced one kiss before when filming “General Hospital. That’s why when she heard that a scene involved a passionate kiss with another character, she became extremely nervous. When McCullough arrived at work and knew that her on-screen kiss wasn’t with another teenager but rather a 22-year-old man, things became worse for her.
When you hear that adult actor joked with another actor during practice that he had condoms ready for a date with the teen, you’ll undoubtedly feel almost as awful as McCullough did. However, McCullough was told by a producer to just be appreciative of the opportunity to work with such a talented star.
McCullough was upset and refused to kiss the actor despite his attempts to apologize. “With the director and the crew watching me, I stood my ground. He kissed me on the cheek instead of the ‘long kiss’ at the end of the scene,” She remembered. She admitted that it was a modest triumph, but she also has no doubt that since she stood up for herself, she was seen as difficult.
#4 Kirk Cameron has vowed not to kiss anyone other than his wife.
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Kirk Cameron pledged to never kiss another woman after marrying his “Growing Pains” co-star Chelsea Noble. When he had to film a love scene in the 2008 drama “Fireproof,” producers tasked him with dressing up his wife as Cameron’s on-screen love partner and capturing the scene in silhouette.
Cameron talked out about his love for his wife, noting that he wants to uphold marriage ideals as much as possible. “So marriage is a very special and sacred thing to us. In a day and age where marriage is falling apart, we want to make movies and projects that really uphold and have a high view of that which is beautiful in our culture,” he said.
#5 Leona Lewis said ‘no way’ to a kiss with Chace Crawford.
Source: YouTube
They wanted me and Chace to kiss in the ‘I Will Be’ video,” But I said no way.” Leona Lewis told the Daily Mail in 2009.
She admitted that she was hesitant to get close to Crawford since she would have been embarrassed. “He’s so beautiful, I mean, look at him — he could be a girl. He’d be a really pretty girl. But I just don’t think of him like that. And it wouldn’t be fair to Lou to kiss other guys.” When asked if her boyfriend, music industry professional Lou Al-Chamaa, was jealous of the men cast to star in Lewis’ videos, she replied, “I think he would if I was kissing them, but I’d never do that.”
#6 Lindsay Lohan reportedly felt awful for refusing to kiss her co-star.
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Lindsay Lohan reportedly refused to kiss Charlie Sheen three times in a scene for the 2013 film “Scary Movie 5.” She was concerned about the actor’s shady partying history, according to reports.
As shown by TMZ, Lohan told producers ahead of time that she wasn’t comfortable with the scenes. However, the script wasn’t changed until the last minute, possibly to convince Lohan to change her mind. Nonetheless, when it came time to film the scenes, a body double was called in to accommodate the actor’s requests, while other parts were completely written out.
Later, she began to feel awful about the situation and tried to contact the actor to apologize, but her phone broke and she couldn’t reach him, according to the Daily Mail. Perhaps it’s all love now because he paid her $100,000 to help with her tax debt in 2012.
#7 Neal McDonough really never kisses anyone on screen.
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Neal McDonough, an Irish-American actor, isn’t like smooching anyone other than his wife, which has sometimes led to problems in his work.
“Life is about honoring God and being the best human being you can be and giving praise to God in everything you do,” McDonough told the publication. “Killing people on screen — that’s fake. That’s not real. When you’re in bed with another woman on screen — guess what? That’s real. I don’t like that kind of stuff. Especially now with kids, I don’t want to have my kids say, ‘Hey, Dad, what are you doing with that lady on screen?'”
McDonough has every right to hold his ideas, including refusing to perform intimate scenes with his TV wife Nicollette Sheridan on “Desperate Housewives,” but that doesn’t mean they aren’t costly. According to the Daily Mail, the actor was fired from the sitcom “Scoundrels” for refusing to film love scenes and was eventually replaced by David James Elliott, who had no difficulty being intimate on camera.
#8 Thandiwe Newton was not about to pucker up for Gerard Butler.
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Thandiwe Newton and Gerard Butler appeared together in Guy Ritchie’s 2008 film “RocknRolla.” There was no doubt that the two attractive actors would sizzle on-screen as lovers; nevertheless, Butler caught a severe cold while they were filming. “Gerry was very unwell indeed,” Newton revealed to Newshub.
Newton, on the other hand, may not have been so grateful, admitting, “I wouldn’t kiss him.” As a result, she said Ritchie improvised. “I don’t know how he coped with those problems but it ended up being one of the most brilliant scenes.” So maybe it was a good thing Butler was a sick mess in the end.
#9 Will Smith regrets refusing to film this on-screen kiss
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Will Smith may be the undeniable king of the summer blockbuster, but he experimented in small independent dramas early in his career. That brings us to “Six Degrees of Separation,” released in 1993.
His role was gay, and the film’s director, Fred Schepisi, was enraged when Smith refused to kiss a male co-star on camera, according to the Independent. Smith allegedly asked for advice from Oscar winner Denzel Washington, who advised him, “Don’t be kissing no man.” Smith insisted on shooting the moment from behind, allowing him to fake the kiss.
Smith has now regretted it, telling Entertainment Weekly that his refusal to perform the kiss as written was immature, adding, “I wasn’t emotionally stable enough to artistically commit to that aspect of the film. In a movie with actors and a director and writer of this caliber, for me to be the one bringing something cheesy to it … this was a valuable lesson for me. Either you do it, or you don’t.”
