Denzel Washington challenged a street signer in New York City who accused him of lying about his sobriety in a tense back-and-forth that turned into a mental confrontation.
The conversation, filmed and uploaded by GTVReality and released on Monday (October 27), shows the two-time Oscar winner sitting in his car when the autograph hunter approaches and boldly declares: “Mr. Washington, you’re better off drinking.”
Washington, 69, responded firmly: “I haven’t had a drink in about 15 years.”
Men don’t believe it. “That’s a white lie,” he replied, prompting Washington to change his tune and ask, “Do you believe in God?”
The autograph seeker responded: “Of course I believe in God. That’s why I wake up every morning, come out and hustle, don’t hurt anyone, do some stupid stuff, do those n#### things you do in the hood every day, all day long. I just get autographs, Mr. Washington. Seriously.”
As traffic started to move, the man tried again: “It will take a few seconds to help my brother out.”
Washington then held up a photo on his phone showing eyes in the clouds.
“Who do you think it is?” he asked. When the man said, “This is God,” Washington added, “Who do you think took this picture? I’m praying to God. I can’t see your face. Everybody says they can see your face. I hear, ‘Turn left.'” That’s what I saw. “
Before the man could respond further, Washington issued a warning: “Listen to me, you can play games with me.” The man interjected, “But you can’t play with him,” Washington ended the conversation, “Be careful when you talk to me about God.”
View this post on Instagram
The incident drew attention to timeline inconsistencies in Washington’s sobriety claims. In the video, he said he had been sober for 15 years. However, in a 2024 interview with Esquire, he stated that he stopped drinking at the age of 60 and would celebrate 10 years of sobriety in December.
“I did a lot of damage to my body. We’ll see. I’m clean,” he said at the time. “I’m going to be 10 this December. I stopped when I was 60 and I haven’t been worth anything since.”
