Channing Tatum is weaving his magic into the realm of literature, as the 'Magic Mike' alumnus is set to release a romance novel co-authored with Roxane Gay next year. And as the 'Bad Feminist' writer revealed, their partnership came about in "the most ridiculous way."
"A journalist asked him if he knew about this writer who had a crush on him and wrote a book called 'Bad Feminist'," Roxane recently recounted on the 'Service95' podcast when chatting with Dua Lipa. "He was like, 'Oh, I haven't heard of it, but I'll look into it.'"
And then he did. And then someone approached him about doing a book project, and he was like, 'Yes, I would love to, if I can co-write it with this person.'" The duo's relationship took off from there, with plans to write the romance novel quickly forming. And as Roxane previously teased, "It's very sexy. Lots and lots of sex."
"It's actually grounded in reality," she said of the book's plot on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' last year. "You know how so many people make these little pacts? Like, 'If we both turn 40 and we’re still single, let’s get married.' So they actually get married and then they fall in love afterwards."
"A voluntary arranged marriage," she laughed. "With lots and lots of sex in a bakery."
Throughout the entire writing experience, Roxane has found herself constantly impressed by Channing—who had previous experience as an author with his 'Sparkella' series, inspired by his and ex-wife Jenna Dewan's daughter Everly, 12.
"For whatever reason, he is intimately aware of his privilege," she shared with Vanity Fair in 2023. "He doesn’t apologize for it, which is, frankly, refreshing. Like, you’re an absurdly attractive famous wealthy white man. Please don’t pretend that isn’t great. But he treats people well."
And when it came to working together, the 'Lost City' actor made sure that he and Roxane were equally paid.
"To be clear, that is the right thing to do," Roxane noted. "And we shouldn’t give medals to people for doing the right thing, but at the same time, most people simply don’t do the right thing, and it is notable when it happens."
