Channing Tatum would be surprised if a woman "kept going" after finding out her romantic partner was wearing a thong.
The hunky actor is back as a male stripper in Magic Mike XXL, the sequel to the 2012 movie, and is again joined by Joe Manganiello, Matt Bomer and Adam Rodriguez. The guys were all fine with stripping off this time around, but they couldn't get to grips with the skimpy costumes they had to wear.
"I don't care how in shape you are, a thong doesn't look cool. We had a large debate on the movie, whether to be in thongs or just underwear. Most women do not think thongs are sexy on men. If you had a first date with a man - or a third date, if you're classy - and you decided to get as far as to see his underwear, and he had a thong on, would you keep going?" Channing asked British magazine Glamour. "I asked my wife [Jenna Dewan-Tatum] and she said we had to wear thongs. I said, 'You don't think they're sexy, but you want us to wear them?' She was like, 'Yes. That's why people are going.'"
It's not just the site of the smalls which had the lads upset, it was the amount of grooming involved in wearing them. None of them were excited by the prospect of cutting their body hair, but Channing explained they had no choice if they wanted to keep things tasteful.
"I've never heard it called a posing pouch before. That is awesome! You Europeans with your linguistic ability," he laughed, when told that is how a thong can be referred to. "Well, the grooming is on a high level, because you don't want a jungle down there, overflowing the posing pouch."
As well as maintaining hairless physiques, the men had to ensure their muscles were in tip-top form too. That meant strict diets and hours spent sweating it out in the gym, making their first meal post-shoot all the more sweeter.
"After we wrapped, Channing orchestrated a huge buffet after asking everyone what their favourite indulgent food was. I think my endorphins went so crazy that I got a little high from the pizza, fried chicken and banana splits," Matt giggled.
