Denzel Washington weighs in on cancel culture debate: “You can’t be cancelled if you haven’t signed up”

Denzel Washington has weighed in on the ongoing cancel culture debate, dismissing it entirely and saying he doesn’t “follow anybody”.

The Highest 2 Lowest actor appeared alongside director and frequent collaborator Spike Lee to discuss their recent film, and was asked by Complex News if he was concerned about being cancelled.

Meeting it with a question of his own, the two-time Oscar winner said: “What does that mean, to be cancelled?”

Interviewer Jillian Hardeman-Webb then said it meant losing public support, to which Washington said, “Who cares?”, adding, “What made public support so important to begin with?”

Hardeman-Webb replied, “followers now are currency,” which led Washington to expand on his take on cancel culture.

Denzel Washington sends strong message on cancel culture:

“I Follow God, I Don’t Follow Man.” pic.twitter.com/kk1JxalBgK

— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) August 17, 2025

“I don’t care who’s following who,” he continued. “You can’t lead and follow at the same time, and you can’t follow and lead at the same time. I don’t follow anybody. I follow the heavenly spirit. I follow God, I don’t follow man. I have faith in God. I have hope in man, but look around, it ain’t working out so well.

“You can’t be cancelled if you haven’t signed up. Don’t sign up. Don’t get me started. My chest started hurting. You know, chest is getting tight talking about it.”

It follows Washington getting into a tense altercation with a photographer at the premiere of Highest 2 Lowest, his fifth collaboration with director Lee. In a video shared by The New York Post back in May, Washington appeared to respond angrily to a photographer grabbing him.

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 was released theatrically by studio A24 earlier this month (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”.