Hollywood seems to be a place where egos and rivalries coexist. One rivalry, however, caught the public’s attention despite seeming too unbelievable to be true: the unlikely conflict between Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere.
The Rocky star attracted media attention and sparked strange rumors about his on-set beef with the King David star, who dropped a half chicken on Stallone’s thigh while filming The Lords of Flatbush. This apparently cost Gere Chico Tyrell’s role.
While filming a 1974 drama film, the tension between Stallone and Gere briefly surfaced. It should be noted that Perry King ultimately played the role that Gere was originally cast in. This is because the Golden Globe Award-winning actor was fired as a result of conflicts with Stallone that occurred during Martin Davidson’s film’s rehearsal process.
Sylvester Stallone And Richard Gere’s Feud Began Over Chicken?
Richard Gere was a well-known Hollywood heartthrob who was respected for his dramatic performances. He had a very busy couple of decades, beginning with his career-launching performance as Julian Kaye in American Gigolo (1980), followed by his acclaimed role as Zack Mayo in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman, and his well-known role in the 2002 film Chicago, which won the Golden Globe Award.
But it was on the set of The Lords of Flatbush that he first developed a fierce dislike for Sylvester Stallone. The latter was preparing to take the lead in The Lords of Flatbush in 1973, which also had Gere playing Chico Tyrell.
While filming, The Expendables star was having his lunch in the back of a car with Gere. When the latter’s half of the chicken spilled on the former’s thigh, the Rocky star reacted angrily and “elbowed” Gere out of the vehicle, sparking an immediate feud.
In an interview with Ain’t it Cool News, Stallone recalled, saying:
“We were rehearsing at Coney Island and it was lunchtime, so we decided to take a break, and the only place that was warm was in the backseat of a Toyota. I was eating a hotdog and he climbs in with a half a chicken covered in mustard with grease nearly dripping out of the aluminum wrapper. I said, ‘That thing is going to drip all over the place.’ He said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ I said, ‘If it gets on my pants you’re gonna know about it.’ He proceeds to bite into the chicken and a small, greasy river of mustard lands on my thigh. I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay. Richard was given his walking papers and to this day seriously dislikes me.”
Sylvester Stallone And Richard Gere ‘Never hit it off’
Sylvester Stallone took on a role in The Lords of Flatbush in 1974 as a young and unproven actor. The movie also starred other talented actors like Henry Winkler and Perry King. It is interesting to note that the cast of this film almost looked entirely different because Richard Gere was originally slated to play one of the leads.
Years later, the First Blood actor revealed this in an interview with Ain’t it Cool News:
“The original part of Chico, which was played by Perry King, was originally supposed to be played by Richard Gere, but we never hit it off…”
The conflict, however, continued on. Princess Diana, George Michael, Richard Gere, Sylvester Stallone, and other famous friends were among the guests at a dinner party that Elton John hosted. According to the Daily Mail, John wrote in his 2019 book Me:
“They ended up sitting in front of the fireplace together, locked in rapt conversation.”
Stallone, who John claimed was not having a good time at the gathering, kept glancing enviously at Gere and Princess Diana. The Rambo actor and Gere had a confrontation later that evening, and tensions were high. The two celebrities were discovered by John’s husband, David Furnish (via the Daily Mail):
“[They were] apparently about to settle their differences over Diana by having a fistfight.”
However, Stallone refuted John’s allegations in a reply to a fan on Instagram, calling the latter’s story “total BS,” as reported by Us Weekly:
“Total BS for him to sell books. Total rubbish.”
Fortunately for Stallone and Gere, they never worked together again because their tastes in movies were so drastically different.