Cancel Culture? Denzel Washington Says He’s Not Interested: “You Can’t Be Canceled If You Haven’t Signed Up”
Denzel Washington isn’t worried about cancel culture, and he made that very clear in a recent interview with Complex News. The actor, speaking alongside director Spike Lee, was asked if he worried about “being canceled.” Washington’s response was simple: “What does that mean — to be canceled?”
When interviewer Jillian Hardeman-Webb explained that it means losing public support, Washington shrugged it off. “Who cares?” he said. He added, “What made public support so important to begin with?”
Hardeman-Webb noted that followers are like currency today. Washington used that to explain what really matters to him. “I don’t care who’s following who,” he said. “You can’t lead and follow at the same time, and you can’t follow and lead at the same time. I don’t follow anybody. I follow the heavenly spirit. I follow God, I don’t follow man. I have faith in God. I have hope in man, but look around, it ain’t working out so well.”
He went further on cancel culture: “You can’t be canceled if you haven’t signed up. Don’t sign up. Don’t get me started. My chest started hurting. You know, chest is getting tight talking about it.”
This comes just days after Washington said he doesn’t act for Oscars. In an interview with Jake’s Takes, he explained, “I don’t care about that kind of stuff. I’ve been at this a long time, and there’s time when I won and shouldn’t have won and then didn’t win and should’ve won. Man gives the award. God gives the reward. … People ask me, ‘Where do I keep it?’ Well, next to the other one. I’m not bragging! Just telling you how I feel about it. On my last day, [Oscars] aren’t going to do me a bit of good.”
Washington’s comments show that for him, recognition from fans or awards isn’t the main goal. He follows his own path, guided by faith, and isn’t worried about the pressure or judgments that come from cancel culture.
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