There's a reason the Magic Mike love is still going strong since the first movie was released in 2012: it's a movie that respects its audience. For the first time, women are the ones doing the objectifying, and star Channing Tatum has turned that into a bigger conversation about sexuality. That conversation is a huge part of the Magic Mike Live show that came to Las Vegas in March of this year, and it's the reason the spectacle is extending its run.
"We just kind of did something that we thought was important, which was actually make it for women, and not for women to come and worship men," he told People at the L.A. premiere of his new Amazon series Comrade Detective. "To actually worship the women that are coming to the show and do something for them instead of just being like, it’s all about the dudes up there."
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Male objectification is a tricky thing, and still leaves room for sexism and uncomfortable power dynamics, so Tatum's project is more about taking a closer look at these snags.
"I want to just try to be like, okay, men and women, let’s talk," he continued. "Let’s actually have a conversation about sex — about just humor, about really talking and connecting on what we are getting, or what we are getting and what we’re not getting. Let’s not make it so taboo."
This isn't to say the show is a lecture — multiple first-hand accounts say it's anything but. Put simply, it's a crazy time, but it's also a safe space.
"It can be dirty if you want it to be dirty, or it can be just like a good time fun where you don’t feel like you need a shower afterward," he explained.
And in case you were wondering, yes, Tatum says he's definitely going to perform in the show "at some point," so you better snap up a bunch of tickets just in case