Denzel Washington may be a two-time Oscar winner and one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, but he goes on to share that he's not too concerned with other people's opinions.
Just days after making headlines for saying he's "not that interested in the Oscars," the Tallest 2 Shortest star has indicated he doesn't spend time worrying about being "cancelled."
When Washington, along with director and frequent collaborator Spike Lee, was asked in a video interview with Complex News if he was worried about “being” canceled, he responded with a question of his own: “What does that mean: being canceled?”
When interviewer Jillian Hardeman-Webb said, “It means you lose public support,” Washington said, “Who cares?”
He added: "What made public support so important in the first place?"
Hardeman-Webb responded, “Followers are currency now,” prompting Washington to explain what’s important to him.
"I don't care who follows whom," 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 I look around, it doesn't work so well."
He added: "You can't cancel if you haven't registered. Don't register. Don't get me started. My chest started hurting. You know, the chest is getting tight talking about it."
Washington and Lee's latest collaboration, their fifth overall and first in nearly 20 years, though Lee says it probably won't be their last , is in theaters now.
The A24 and Apple film is a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa's High Low starring Washington as a music mogul who is targeted in a ransom plot.
Earlier this week, Washington said he doesn't act "for the Oscars."
“I don’t care about that kind of stuff,” he said of Jake’s Takes . “I’ve been at this a long time, and there are times when I’ve won and shouldn’t have won, and then I didn’t win and should have won. Man gives the prize. God gives the reward… people ask me, ‘Where do I keep it?’ Well, side by side. [Oscars] aren’t going to do me any good.”
Washington has won two Oscars, both for acting, for his supporting role in 1989's Gloria and for Best Actor for 2001's Training Day .
