WERE PRYOR AND BRANDO LOVERS? DAUGHTER SAYS NO
Actor Richard Pryor’s widow confirmed his bisexuality, but his furious daughter asserts that her father did not sleep with actor Marlon Brando
Did the late actors Richard Pryor and Marlon Brando sleep with each other or not? Brando’s friend, record producer Quincy Jones, had casually let it drop that they did, and then Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Lee, confirmed that the actor was bisexual. But his daughter, Rain Pryor, has poured vitriol on what she sees as nasty gossip-mongering.
Lee, who married Pryor twice — first from 1981 to 1982 and then from 2001 till the comedian’s death in 2005 — said that Pryor had a lot of sex in the 1970s with both men and women. She confirmed the Brando-Pryor hook-up, too.
Jones had said, “Brando would f*** anything. He’d f*** a mailbox. James Baldwin. Richard Pryor. Marvin Gaye.”
Lee noted, “Richard would have no shame about Quincy’s comments.” She added that Pryor was very open about his bisexuality, and documented it extensively in diaries. The widow said that she’d publish the diaries later this year.
But, Rain Pryor wrote in her social media posts: “Daddy did NOT have relations with Brando. Why this sudden need to drag Daddy through the Hollywood mud? I find it tasteless and infuriating... We live in the age of faux news is real unless we disagree for our own agendas, and people need to stay relevant by dishing dirt.” She also wrote: “As one of his children, I should not have to defend my brilliant and bruised father to anyone. But instead I am sharing much vulnerability with some mean spirited gossip rag readers who believe anyone with money and fame.”
Pryor, a stand-up comedian and actor, was also known for his uncompromising look at racism and other topical issues. Brando, one of the legends of Hollywood, was also an activist.