That time when Ray Liotta had a gay kiss on the Jennifer Lopez drama ‘Shades Of Blue’
Venerable film and television actor Ray Liotta has passed away at the age of 67. RIP.Best known for his role as Harry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s gangster movie classic, Goodfellas, Liotta has made a career out of playing wise guys, tough guys, and generally guys you just don’t want to mess around with.
Despite the bruiser reputation, his work often possessed a real tenderness—perhaps it was those piercing blue eyes that could telegraph a well of emotion stirring beneath the hardened shell.(He also, we should add, had a great sense of humor, as seen on shows like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, or in his run-ins with queer icons, The Muppets)As many fans and former colleagues take to social media to remember his talent and genuine soulfulness, let’s take a trip back to the not-too-distant past of 2016, when Liotta starred opposite another icon, Jennifer Lopez, in the NBC crime drama, Shades Of Blue, gifting us with an unexpected but welcome gay kiss we won’t soon forget.In many ways, Shades Of Blue—which ran for three seasons from 2016 to 2018—is remembered as “that one cop show where J.Lo has curly hair.” But the series proved early on that it was willing to subvert expectations when, in its third episode, Ray Liotta’s police lieutenant Matt Wozniak kisses fellow cop Donnie Pomp (played by Michael Esper).
Considering Wozniak was married to a woman, the moment came as a real shock, leaving the door open for the drama to explore the brooding character’s bisexuality, especially in relation to Wozniak’s gay son, Nate (Cameron Scoggins).And what a kiss!
Liotta and Esper don’t hold back, staring silently into each other’s eyes before they grab each other’s faces and go for it.
