Denzel Washington is demanding some respect from paparazzi and autograph-seekers.
The Oscar-winning actor was out on the town on Wednesday evening, celebrating his friend and fellow actor Samuel L. Jackson at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. In a video obtained by TMZ, Washington was visibly frustrated with the rowdy crowd, asking for them to “respect” him.
“Yo, put this down,” the “Training Day” actor said while approaching the crowd in the video. “I heard you, you keep talking about showing love, I got nothing but love, but respect me,” he continued.
He added that he told the crowd earlier that he’d “see them” when he got out. He then asked, “Which part of that don’t y’all understand? Or not. We could do that another way. We can do it both ways. You feel me?”
Check out the clip below:
The replies are filled with Washington fans coming to his side to defend the actor, writing that they better “leave him alone” and that he is “standing on business.” One user wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Denzel Washington wasn’t playing with paparazzi.”
Denzel is gearing up for quite the awards season, as he is getting genuine Oscar buzz for his upcoming performance in the highly anticipated “Gladiator” sequel, “Gladiator II.” In a recent Q&A, Washington opened up about Gladiator and working with director Ridley Scott, explaining, “When you would walk around, you were in Rome, and it seemed like 10,000 extras and horses. It was make believe, it was play, it was fun.”
He added, “Just put the gear on, just put the dress on and go, that’s the way I looked at it. I’m putting this dress on, these rings, and I’m going crazy.”
Washington is also busy supporting his son’s latest project, “The Piano Lesson,” set to hit Netflix next month. The adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning August Wilson play of the same name is directed by Malcolm Washington and starring John David Washington, Denzel’s sons.