{"id":45941,"date":"2025-08-19T16:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=45941"},"modified":"2025-08-19T16:36:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T20:36:00","slug":"denzel-washington-on-cancel-culture-i-follow-god-not-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2025\/08\/denzel-washington-on-cancel-culture-i-follow-god-not-man.html","title":{"rendered":"Denzel Washington on Cancel Culture: ‘I Follow God, Not Man’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Works \/ Shutterstock.com | Inset: complexpop \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Few Hollywood stars have true staying power in the rapidly changing entertainment landscape, but Denzel Washington is showing why he remains an enduring figure. Washington joined Complex News<\/em><\/a> along with Spike Lee to promote their new film Highest 2 Lowest <\/em>when he was asked if he ever worries about being \u201ccanceled.\u201d He responded by asking what it means to be canceled, which interviewer Jillian Hardemann-Webb described as losing public support.<\/p>\n

Many public figures often dance around controversial issues to avoid being canceled. But Washington remained antipathetic to the concept. \u201cWho cares? What made public support so important to begin with? You can\u2019t lead and follow at the same time, and you can\u2019t follow and lead at the same time,\u201d he said. The 70-year-old actor then leaned in on his faith. \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

Washington then offered his prescription for avoiding cancel culture. \u201cYou can\u2019t be canceled if you haven\u2019t signed up. Don\u2019t sign up.\u201d He then turned to Lee, saying, \u201cDon\u2019t get me started. You know, chest is getting tight talking about it.\u201d Lee, who has also been known to court controversy at times, agreed saying, \u201cI could care less.\u201d Washington displayed a similar carefree attitude when asked about winning an Oscar on Jake\u2019s Takes<\/em>. \u201cI don\u2019t do it for Oscars. I really don\u2019t care about that kind of stuff,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve been at this a long time. There\u2019s times when I won and shouldn\u2019t have won, and shouldn\u2019t have won and won. Man gives the award. God gives the reward.”<\/p>\n

Washington has previously lamented the \u201cfollowers-focused\u201d fame of current celebrities. Speaking to The Associated Press<\/em><\/a>, Washington lamented how talent has been replaced by clicks. \u201cI didn’t grow up like your generation is growing up, with a zillion people are watching you all the time and you’re looking to be followed all the time and, you know, you actually had to be good at what you did when I was young,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just have to eccentric, you just have to do something stupid, you just have to get people to follow you. And you know, and the thing about following is you’ve got to have something when they get there. And in my day, you had to have something before they got there. You actually had to be good — not followed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Few Hollywood stars have true staying power in the rapidly changing entertainment landscape, but Denzel Washington is showing why he remains an enduring figure. Washington joined Complex News along with Spike Lee to promote their new film Highest 2 Lowest when he was asked if he ever worries about being \u201ccanceled.\u201d He responded by asking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":45944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nDenzel Washington on Cancel Culture: 'I Follow God, Not Man'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Denzel Washington rejects cancel culture, declaring, \u201cI follow God, not man.\u201d Reminding fans, \u201cMan gives the award, God gives the reward.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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