There’s an infamous story from the set of X2 where Halle Berry, while dressed in full Storm costume, told director Bryan Singer to “kiss my Black ass.” Singer, who has since been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple men, laughed off the altercation in later interviews, calling it a “misunderstanding.” It wasn’t a misunderstanding: the Hollywood Reporter got to the bottom of what actually happened while filming the X-Men sequel, and it reportedly involves narcotics, near-deadly stunts, and egomania.
Singer and producer Tom DeSanto got into a fight after DeSanto “attempted to halt shooting when he learned that Singer was incapacitated after taking a narcotic. Some crew-members had taken the same drug, and DeSanto became fearful that someone on set could be injured,” according to the Reporter. Instead of delaying the stunt (which took place aboard the X-Jet — there was no stunt coordinator on set) for another day, Singer trudged ahead, “leading to a botched stunt that left Jackman bleeding on camera”:
The next day, the studio appeared to side with Singer and told DeSanto to return to Los Angeles. That prompted the main cast members, minus McKellen and Romijn — all dressed in their full X-Men costumes — to converge in Singer’s trailer and confront him, threatening to quit if DeSanto left. That’s when Berry famously said to Singer, “You can kiss my Black ass,” a line that has been oft-reported in the years since but never with the correct backstory.
When reached for comment by Hollywood Reporter, a representative for Singer (who was called a “monster” by an executive who worked on X-Men) said, “Nothing like that ever happened.” The whole article — especially the part where Michael Jackson “queued up an elaborate presentation” to show why he should play Professor X — is worth a read.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
