Film Critic Facing Heat For 'Embarrassing' Interview With Denzel Washington
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Denzel Washington is trending on social media this Tuesday, but it's not because of his showstopping performance in "Gladiator II."
Leading up to "Gladiator II," Washington spoke to a plethora of different media members about the film. His interview with Steve Weintraub, however, went viral for an entirely different reason. At the start of the interview, the correspondent for Collider decided to ask the Academy Award winner if he has a favorite Stanley Kubrick film. It seemed like an odd question considering Washington just came off shooting a film for Ridley Scott.
"I like throwing a curveball at the beginning of an interview," Weintraub said. "I decided to go with my Kubrick shirt so I can ask everyone if they have a favorite Kubrick movie."
Washington didn't miss a beat with his response, throwing a curveball right back at the interviewer.
"I'm not a movie buff - no, I'm not a big movie fan - I was in the street when he was making movies," Washington replied. "I'd be the one outside looking to rob you when you came out of a Kubrick movie, okay? So I wasn't a real film buff. I didn't start acting until I was 20 years old and didn't start really going to the movies until I was 20, 22, 23."
Washington then brought up two films in "Shaft" and "Super Fly." Both of those movies took place in the early 1970s. He said he watched them as a teenager.
For the most part, people are applauding Washington for shutting down the correspondent's "embarrassing" question.
"I'M SO GLAD DENZEL DID THIS," one person tweeted. "He's definitely a movie buff, but what he was really saying was why this man thought he could ask someone like Denzel who champions Black films, to speak about a white director instead of a Black one. White film critics are insufferable this way.
"I think it is extremely embarrassing to be a professional film critic sitting across from the greatest living American actor and you can't hold a conversation about two of the uhhhh 15? Most important American films ever made," a second person wrote.
Another person declared, "White people do this thing where they assume that their goats are everyones goats."
Denzel just cooked every single one of us
— Brandon Streussnig (@BrndnStrssng) December 16, 2024
"I'm not a movie buff…I would've been out in the street looking to rob you" pic.twitter.com/eVg2Rv46ZT
Washington, 69, is one of the greatest actors in film history. Asking him about another artist's work seems a tad odd. As you'd expect, the "Training Day" star has not addressed all the attention this interview is receiving. To be fair, he has made it known several times that he doesn't have a social media presence.
Besides, most people are rightfully siding with Washington in this situation.
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