George Clooney Accused of ‘Lying’ About Claim He’s No Longer Kissing Other Women—’It Isn’t Completely Accurate… ‘
George Clooney made headlines in December when he claimed that he would no longer be kissing other women on screen now that he’s older than 60 and married to his wife, Amal Clooney.
“I’ve been trying to go the route Paul Newman did: ‘Okay, well, I’m not kissing a girl anymore,'” he told The Daily Mail. “When I turned 60, I had a conversation with my wife. I said, ‘Look, I can still play basketball with the boys. I play with 25-year-old guys… I can still hang, I’m in shape. But in 25 years, I’m 85 years old. It doesn’t matter how many granola bars you eat, that’s a real number.'”
After the comment went viral, a source claimed to Radar Online that George’s choice to no longer kiss his co-stars actually came after an “ultimatum” from Amal, rather than a mutual decision between the couple.
“It isn’t completely accurate to say George made this decision on his own. Amal had clear views on how he should handle romantic scenes at this stage in his life. It was more of a discussion, followed by an ultimatum from her that she didn’t want to see him do any more romance, kissing and sex scenes than a decision he made alone,” the insider said. “It was his wife’s demand.”
Another source explained that, while George’s decision was his at the end of the day, Amal’s “demand” played a “major factor” into his thought-making process.
“George is clearly still fit enough to play a romantic lead if he chose, but Amal’s opinions played a major role in shaping the decision he says he has made,” the insider said. “Fans might be fooled into thinking this decision is purely about getting older or personal preference, but Amal’s input was a major factor. George respects her viewpoint, and it has influenced how he performs on screen now.”
George’s comment also came after he told 60 Minutes in March that he had taken a step back from playing romantic leads due to his age. “Look, I’m 63 years old. I’m not trying to compete with 25-year-old leading men. That’s not my job. I’m not doing romantic films anymore,” he said.
He also discussed in the interview how his two children—twins Ella and Alexander—have influenced the career choices he makes. “I have 8-year-old kids, so I have to change my career choices – directing means 10 months on the road,” he said. “Directing right now is not something I can do anymore, because I’ve got kids, and I’ve got to be home, and I want to be there for all of that. You make those decisions, but it’s a lot easier to make those decisions later in life when you’ve sort of succeeded.”