Denzel Washington challenged a street autograph seeker in New York City who accused him of lying about his sobriety during a tense back-and-forth that turned spiritual.
The exchange, filmed and uploaded by GTVReality and posted Monday (October 27), shows the two-time Oscar winner sitting in his vehicle when the autograph hunter approached and made a bold claim: “It’s better when you’re drinking, Mr. Washington.”
Washington, 69, responded firmly: “I haven’t had a drink in about 15 years.”
The man wasn’t convinced. “That’s a good lie,” he replied, prompting Washington to shift gears and ask, “Do you believe in God?”
The autograph seeker answered, “Of course I believe in God. That’s why I wake up every morning and come out and hustle, not hurt nobody and do dumb s###—do n#### s### that n##### do in the hood every day, all day. I just get autographs, Mr. Washington. Seriously.”
As traffic began to move, the man tried again: “Takes seconds to help a brother out.”
Washington then held up a photo on his phone, showing what appeared to be eyes in the clouds.
“Who do you think it is?” he asked. When the man said, “It’s God,” Washington added, “Who do you think took that picture? I was praying to God. I couldn’t see your face. Everybody says they can see your face. I heard, ‘Turn to your 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 with, “But you can’t play with Him,” and Washington ended the conversation with, “Be careful when you talk to me about God.”
The incident brought attention to a timeline inconsistency in Washington’s sobriety claims. In the video, he stated he had been sober for 15 years. However, in a 2024 interview with Esquire, he said he stopped drinking at age 60 and would be celebrating 10 years sober in December.
“I’ve done a lot of damage to the body. We’ll see. I’ve been clean,” he said at the time. “Be 10 years this December. I stopped at 60 and I haven’t had a thimble’s worth since.”
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