Billy Dee Williams Says He Once Rejected Marlon Brando's Advances: 'I Prefer Women'

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | February 7, 2024 |

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | February 7, 2024 |

Ooooh, retro gossip alert (my absolute fave)! And this time, it’s sexy.

Billy Dee Williams, heartthrob of yesteryear, has a new memoir out this month. It’s called What Have We Here?: Portraits of A Life. This week, Billy tells People that, “at this stage”, he figured he needed to “talk about a few things that might interest a few people.” The 86-year-old says he’s had “a lot of very interesting experiences throughout the years.” Oh, I’m sure.

One interesting experience? Going to a star-studded party at Marlon Brando’s house and getting propositioned by Vito Corleone himself! Evidently, Marlon asked Billy if he wanted to have sex while the two were standing in his library. Turns out, it was an offer Billy could refuse: “I prefer women.” Billy recalls telling Marlon that he just wasn’t “into guys.” But he adds:

“I had no qualms with that kind of stuff. Whatever you are, that’s who you are. I’m more interested in meeting interesting people.”

Billy tells PEOPLE he spent “a lot of my life around gay people”: “[The late celebrated Black writer] James Baldwin, who was gay, was my dearest friend.” He also admits that he’s been “getting hit on all my life. Gay, straight, whatever, somebody’s always hitting on me.” Fair. Billy credits his romantic lead roles in Lady Sings the Blues (1972) and Mahogany (1975) (both of which star Diana Ross) as the reason for his famous lover boy persona.

Billy may prefer women, but, back in 2019, he told Esquire that he uses masculine and feminine pronouns to describe himself. Later, he clarified that he wasn’t gender fluid, he was simply referring to the “feminine side” of being a man:

“And you see I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself,’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine. I’m a very soft person. I’m not afraid to show that side of myself.”

Billy’s been married three times. First to Audrey Sellers, then to model/actress Marlene Clark, and finally to Teruko Nakagami, whom he wed in 1972. Billy filed for divorce in 1993, but he and Teruko reconciled around 1997. They’ve been together ever since. Teruko’s first husband was jazz legend Wayne Shorter.

As for Marlon, that man got around. He allegedly had flings with Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Kilgallen, Shelly Winters, James Dean, and Rock Hudson. He also dated Rita Moreno on and off for eight years starting in 1954. In 2018, Rita called Marlon “one of the most sexual men on Earth”. She added that his lovemaking skills were a helluva lot better than Elvis’. Ooooh.

A few years ago, Quincy Jones did an interview with Vulture, and claimed Marlon, “the most charming motherf*cker you ever met”, would “f*ck a mailbox.” Quincy said Marlon’s sexual partners included Richard Pryor, Marvin Gaye, and James Baldwin (oh shit, Billy Dee’s friend!). Richard Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Pryor, actually confirmed this tea, and said her late husband was open about his bisexuality. She added:

“It was the ’70s! Drugs were still good, especially quaaludes. If you did enough cocaine, you’d f*ck a radiator and send it flowers in the morning.”

Mailboxes, radiators, but not Billy Dee Williams in a library. Got it!

Oh, and here’s the cover of Billy’s book. I love it:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Billy Dee Williams (@therealbillydee)