Talk about a “man on fire.”
Hollywood star and longtime actor Denzel Washington was caught in a candid moment at the Cannes Film Festival in France on Monday, and the fiery exchange swiftly went viral on social media.
The incident was captured on the Cannes red carpet, which Washington was attending for Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” film, according to Variety.
The tense exchange appeared to have been caused by a particularly boisterous photographer.
When Washington first confronts the grabby photographer, the latter seems to think it’s all a big joke and is seen laughing.
When the star actor finally appeared ready to leave, it seems the photographer grabbed Washington’s arm again, which prompted the actor to spin around and very visibly tell the photographer to “stop.”
Washington, clearly irked at this point, points his finger sternly a few times, repeating “stop,” before turning around and leaving.
You can view the entire terse exchange below:
Denzel Washington appeared to have a tense exchange on the “Highest 2 Lowest” red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival. 🎥: Getty pic.twitter.com/NirZELEloi
— New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2025
Was Denzel Washinton’s reaction justified?
Variety did note that “photographers at Cannes are known to be shouty as they vie for stars’ attention,” which may explain Washington’s response.
And that pushiness — or perhaps the viral incident itself — appears to have triggered Washington to avoid future engagements for “Highest 2 Lowest.”
According to the New York Post, Washington skipped a press conference for his film at Cannes on Tuesday.
Interestingly, sans Washington, director Spike Lee seemed to imply that the working relationship between he and the actor was done, though it’s unclear if there’s any acrimony there.
“It’s been a blessing to have this body of work of us doing films that the people love,” Lee told the press. “It’s a blessing, again. I don’t know if we’re going to do it again.”
Lee added: “I think this is it. Five [films]. [Denzel’s] been talking about retirement, even though he just did another deal.”
“Highest 2 Lowest” is Lee’s interpretation of 1963 Japanese film “High and Low” (or “Heaven and Hell”) from legendary Japanese film auteur Akira Kurosawa. In fact, Kurosawa’s film is itself based on a 1959 novel, “King’s Ransom.”
The stories all center on a man placed in a dire ransom situation and the decisions he makes coming out of it.
“Highest 2 Lowest” will hit theaters on Aug. 22 and will hit streaming service Apple TV+ shortly thereafter on Sept. 5.
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