Thandiwe Newton’s ‘breakdown,’ ‘bizarre’ behavior led to ‘Magic Mike’ exit, report says

A new report confirms Thandiwe Newton’s assertion that she wasn’t fired from the third installment of the “Magic Mike” movie trilogy over an alleged Oscars-related dispute with co-star Channing Tatum.

Unfortunately, the report from Page Six alleges a more troubling reason for Newton’s sudden exit from the London film set. Citing “multiple sources,” Page Six said the 49-year-old British star had been acting “bizarrely” on the set, due to “emotional and family problems” after separating from her husband of 24 years, and she needed to be flown back to the United States to seek treatment.

“Thandiwe had been acting strange on set, she has been very highly strung,” a source told Page Six. “Her apparent breakdown caused so much disruption, it became clear she couldn’t play the role.”

Newton’s agent flew in from Los Angeles to try to smooth things over, but on Tuesday she was flown back to the United States, Page Six added.

“There is a lot going on in her personal life, she and her husband have separated,” the source added. “She seemed so stressed, she even brought her two pet rabbits to her hotel for emotional support.”

Newton’s husband is English writer, director, and producer Ol Parker. Together, they share two daughters, 22 and 18, and an 8-year-old son.

The Emmy Award-winning “Westworld” star was set to co-star with Tatum in the latest installment of the male stripper saga, “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” directed by Steven Soderbergh, the Los Angeles Times and other outlets reported, but she exited the Warner Bros. film after just 11 days in London.

The U.K. tabloid The Sun made the astonishing claim that an “unimaginably vicious” fight broke out between Newton and Tatum last week, with a crew member saying that it had to do with “the debacle at the Oscars,” seemingly referring to Will Smith’s onstage slap of Chris Rock.

The source told The Sun: “It was a tense exchange of words, but suddenly it escalated — Channing got into this car and he disappeared.” The Sun didn’t specify whether Newton or Tatum took particular sides in the Smith/Rock altercation. Unnamed crew members also told The Sun that Newton had been “very demanding” on the set.

Everyone on set found her challenging to work with,” a crew member said. “She’s an absolute diva.”

Newton’s spokesperson vehemently denied The Sun report about alleged discord between Newton and Tatum, telling The Daily Mail: “This report is completely inaccurate.”

On Wednesday, it was announced that Salma Hayek would replace Newton as the film’s female lead, while a Warner Bros. spokesperson released a statement to Variety, confirming that Newton’s exit is at least related to private, “family matters.”

“Thandiwe Newton has made the difficult decision to step away from the production of Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ to deal with family matters,” the statement said.

As a film and TV star, Newton is mostly known for her work, not her personal life. She has a lengthy resume that includes films such as “Beloved,”  “Mission: Impossible 2” and working with Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness.” She also was part of the ensemble cast of the controversial film “Crash,” which won an Oscar for best picture. More recently, she played Val in “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

Last year, Newton revealed that she was changing the spelling of her first name from Thandie to Thandiwe, her real name. She said Thandie was the result of the misspelling of her name in the credits of her first film, and, going forward, she would be known and credited announced as Thandiwe Newton.

In 2016, Newton revealed a dark side to her professional history, saying she had been the victim of sexual misconduct early in her career by an unnamed director. She told W magazine that the director instructed her to fondle herself while he shot up her skirt for an audition. Years later, Newton discovered that the filmmaker was sharing the tape with friends after poker games at his house.

Newton told Insider in 2016 that this experience with sexual exploitation prompted her to take the role in the sci-fi Western “Westworld,” playing a robot brothel madam. Newton said the role mirrored what she and other women have experienced with sexual abuse and with the effort to assert control over their bodies.

“My decision to play this role was a result of conversations we had about what they wanted to create with the show, the provocative material, which was going to be a conversation about what it means to be humane, what defines life, and do you value that life,” Newton told Insider.