Complex<\/a>, the actor ripped into the concept of being canceled, saying he doesn\u2019t care that much about public support or followers.<\/p>\nWhen asked if he considers the idea of being \u201ccanceled,\u201d Washington was quick to question the term, asking, \u201cWhat does that mean \u2014 to be canceled?\u201d<\/p>\n
While she explained that the term essentially meant losing public support, Washington\u2019s response was unapologetically bold: \u201cWho cares? What made public support so important to begin with?\u201d<\/p>\n
The reporter told him that \u201cfollowers now are currency,\u201d to which he replied, \u201cI don\u2019t care who\u2019s following who.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Washington, the idea of chasing after followers \u2014 or public support in general \u2014 isn\u2019t that important.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t lead and follow at the same time, and you can\u2019t follow and lead at the same time,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t follow anybody. I follow the heavenly spirit. I follow God, I don\u2019t follow man. I have faith in God. I have hope in man, but look around, it ain\u2019t working out so well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spike Lee and Denzel Washington at a special screening for \u201cHighest 2 Lowest\u201d at the Tedd Mann Theater in Los Angeles, Calif. on Aug. 13, 2025. Xavier Collin\/Image Press Agency\/MEGA<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cYou can\u2019t be canceled if you haven\u2019t signed up. Don\u2019t sign up.\u201d<\/p>\n
After that, he leaned back in his chair and began laughing, saying, \u201cDon\u2019t get me started. My chest started hurting. You know, chest is getting tight talking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oscar winner made these comments as he sat next to \u201cHighest 2 Lowest\u201d director Spike Lee during the interview.<\/p>\n
Denzel Washington in a scene from the 2002 film \u201cJohn Q.\u201d New Line Cinema<\/p>\n
Washington poses with his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in \u201cGlory\u201d at the 62nd Academy Awards. Sygma via Getty Images<\/p>\n
For Washington, the idea of chasing after followers \u2014 or public support in general \u2014 isn\u2019t that important. AP<\/p>\n
Lee echoed the same sentiments as Washington, saying, \u201cI could care less.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reps for Washington did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital\u2019s request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Throughout the span of Washington\u2019s illustrious career, the legendary actor has continued to make a major impact in Hollywood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the actor received his 11th Golden Globe nomination for his work in \u201cGladiator II,\u201d setting a new record as the Black actor with the most nominations in the history of the awards show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Washington took home a\u00a0Golden Globe\u00a0for best performance by a male actor in a supporting role for his portrayal of Macrinus in the action film.<\/p>\n
Throughout the span of Washington\u2019s illustrious career, the legendary actor has continued to make a major impact in Hollywood.\u00a0 Mike Marsland\/WireImage<\/p>\n
The \u201cTraining Day\u201d actor previously sent his passionate fans into a tailspin with his retirement rumors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say I was going to go into retirement,\u201d he told\u00a0BuzzFeed<\/a>. \u201cI said that it has to be a level of interest for me. I\u2019m more interested in getting behind the camera, so that\u2019s about five years out.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult. And I may have used the word \u2018retire,\u2019 but I look at life in three sections: you learn, you earn, you return. I\u2019m in the return part of life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denzel Washington\u00a0is making it clear \u2013 he wants nothing to do with cancel culture.\u00a0 In a heated conversation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1508,54418,236,57086,88,1506],"class_list":{"0":"post-89186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-actors","9":"tag-cancel-culture","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-denzel-washington","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-hollywood"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}