Denzel Washington Reveals We've All Been Saying His Name Wrong in Viral Tweet

By Kofi Outlaw

Denzel Washington has revealed that we've all been saying his name wrong, all along. The two-time Oscar-winning actor/icon was doing an interview on the UK's The Graham Norton Show, and the host did a routine check on his pronunciation of the guest's name, only to uncover a decades-long error! Washington actually took the rare opportunity of being asked how to say his name to let it be known that his name sounds closer to something like "Denzil," rather than "Den-Zel." Well how about that... 

In a hilarious banter exchange with Norton, "Denzil" Washington confirmed that he, Denzel Jr. and his father, Denzel Sr., both pronounced the name the same way. However, the star also had to acknowledge that at this point he is kind of going by "Den-Zel," for all intents and purposes... 

Well, once a US viewer caught wind of Denzel's name confession and posted it to Twitter, the whole thing immediately went viral: 

Funny enough, Denzel Washington is actually the second celebrity this week to reveal that we never really knew his/her name. Lindsay Lohan recently exploded onto TikTok by making her first post a reveal that "Low-Han" is not actually how to say her name, which is actually something closer to "Lowen." 

These new reveals from popular celebs only go to underscore the strange and often absurd nature of fame. Actors work tirelessly to break out as recognizable talent – but once the public decides on an actor's public persona, the illusion of it can utterly overshadow the real person – name and all. Thinking of all the times Denzel (and/or Lindsay) sat through moments of listening to people say their names wrong suggests their "acting" jobs were much more tireless than we ever knew... 

Denzel Washington is having a great year in his career (yet again). Washington partnered with Apple and director Joel Coen (of the Coen Brothers) for a new take on William Shakespeare in The Tragedy of Macbeth, with Washington as the titular character. The role has earned Denzel his ninth Oscar nomination – his seventh nomination for Best Lead Actor. At this point, it's only fitting (if not long overdue) that we get the man's name right. 

Here's the synopsis for Denzel ("Denzil") Washington's new film, The Tragedy of Macbeth (available on Apple TV+):

A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.

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