Halle Berry Addresses Whether Her Explicit 'Monster's Ball' Sex Scene With Billy Bob Thornton Was Real
Halle Berry has finally addressed the long-standing rumors that she and Billy Bob Thornton were intimately involved during the filming of the explicit sex scene in 'Monster's Ball.'
Speaking on Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert' podcast, Berry debunked the myth, saying, "There's an urban legend that we really were [having sex]— I've heard it and it's just not true." She emphasized that despite the scene's intensity, it was simply great acting — not real intimacy.
Her performance in the film won Berry her first Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first Black woman to ever win the award in that category. However, she expressed her frustration that some viewers couldn't accept her acting talent and felt the need to speculate about the scene's authenticity, believing it had to be real.
Berry, 58, addressed how these types of rumors seem to cling more to minorities, recalling a 2002 interview with 'The Guardian' where she said, "A lot of things happen to people of color that don't happen to other people." However, she added that focusing on this would make her sound like a victim, something she wanted to avoid.
Still, the Cleveland, Ohio, native admitted on the podcast that the rumor had affected her over the years.
"It's secretly driven me mad all these years," she confessed. She also mentioned that Thornton, 68, was married to Angelina Jolie at the time, which would have made the situation even more inappropriate. "I know Angie, and she ain't signing off on that [...]," Berry joked.
Read more: Halle Berry Confesses Her Extreme Method Acting Prep, Including Skipping Showers 'Half the Time'
Thornton has also faced questions about the rumor, and in a 2012 interview on 'Sway In The Morning,' he addressed it, saying, "No, we're actors... We do the job that we're required to do." He praised Berry's talent and beauty, but insisted the scene was purely professional.
In the same podcast appearance with Shepard, 49, Berry took the opportunity to clear up other misconceptions about her personal life, denying rumors that she dated Spike Lee or Eddie Murphy, whom she starred with in the movie 'Boomerang.'
She also called out pro wrestler Ric Flair's false claim that they had slept together in 1997, lamenting how people continuously fabricate stories about her. "They gotta link you to somebody," Berry remarked, adding that her three marriages were enough drama for anyone to talk about.
