Denzel Washington gets into heated confrontation with Cannes photographer

Denzel Washington got into a tense altercation with a photographer at the premiere of his new film at Cannes, appearing to tell the man to “Stop” on several occasions.

The two-time Oscar winner was at the film festival for the premiere of Highest 2 Lowest, his fifth collaboration with director Spike Lee, in which he plays a powerful music executive. In a video shared by The New York Post, Washington appears to respond angrily to a photographer grabbing him.

He talks with the man, pointing his finger at him, with the photographer appearing to try and laugh it off before grabbing his arm again. The actor then pushes his hand away and tells him several times to “Stop”.

Denzel Washington appeared to have a tense exchange on the "Highest 2 Lowest" red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival. : Getty pic.twitter.com/NirZELEloi

— New York Post (@nypost) May 19, 2025

The red carpets at Cannes are known for being highly publicised events, although the festival has implemented some changes recently. Ahead of this year’s edition, the festival shared an updated red carpet dress code which banned nudity and “Voluminous outfits”.

Prior to the film’s screening, Variety reports that the Hollywood legend was awards an honorary Palme D’Or, the festival’s highest honour, by Lee. The honour was accompanied by Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux introducing a montage of Washington’s films including Malcolm X and Training Day.

Highest 2 Lowest, a loose adaptation of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, follows a businessman deciding whether to use his wealth to further his career or save a child’s life. The film is to be released theatrically by studio A24 on August 2, before being made available on the Apple TV+ streaming service on September 5.

Recently, fans of Denzel Washington voiced their anger at the actor not receiving a nomination for his Broadway production of Othello, with some fans calling for a “Boycott” of the ceremony. In April, Succession star Brian Cox criticised the reported $1000 ticket prices for the show, saying: “That’s wrong”.

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