An intense moment between Denzel Washington and some autograph hunters outside an event in New York City has been caught on film.
The 69-year-old actor was in New York to attend a celebration for Samuel L. Jackson at the Museum of Modern Art. While he took some time to meet fans and pose for photos, a group calling out his name from the side seemed to capture his attention in a way that led to a bit of a clash.
It’s not exactly clear what set Washington off, but in the video, he appears to scold someone in the crowd who had been persistently calling out for him. The footage, although hard to follow due to background noise, shows the Oscar-winning actor walking up to the group, saying: “I heard you. You talk about showing love… Respecting me.”
One person in the crowd replied, saying: “We already do.”
Washington fired back, “I said I’ll see you when I get out, which part of that don’t y’all understand,”
And then he added: “It’s about showing love’ – before raising his voice and declaring ‘or not, or not! we can do it another way… or not, we can do it both ways,”, before heading inside.
Washington is not the only star lately who’s taken a stand against pushy autograph hunters, who often wait for celebs and then sell their signatures online. Recently, Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis was caught on camera asking persistent fans to respect his space as he left a venue in Los Angeles.
In a video shared by TMZ, Sudeikis can be heard telling fans who followed him for autographs: “Guys, please, stop, stop, I’m not going to sign anything. I literally have to go.”
He continued: “I’m sorry, that was a lot, that scared the s*** out of me. For real, I’m just a human being. Please, I’m going home – good night.”
Singer Chappell Roan has also spoken up recently about fans who cross the line. In a series of TikTok videos, she questioned why some fans feel it’s okay to follow celebrities in public spaces.
In the clip, she asked: “If you saw a random woman in the street, would you yell at her from the car window? Would you harass her in public,”
And then added: “Would you go up to a random lady and say, ‘Can I get a photo with you?’ and she’s like ‘No, what the f**k,’ and then you get mad at this random lady?”
