“Unhand my king” - Fans react as Denzel Washington gets in confrontation after being grabbed by Cannes photographer

Denzel Washington slammed a photographer for getting handsy with him during the premiere of his Highest 2 movie at Cannes on Monday, May 19.

In clips circulating online, the veteran actor, 70, can be seen slamming a photograph for reaching out to him aggressively and pointing the camera in his face. He was accompanied by A$AP Rocky, 36, his co-star, and was speaking to Spike Lee, the film's director.

Fans have since begun siding with Denzel Washington, with many calling for better behavior at such events on the part of the reporters. Here's what one fan penned on X, for instance:

"Not sure who this reporter at #CannesFilmFestival is that lost his mind & thinks it’s OK to put his hands on Denzel Washington, but clearly someone hasn’t seen The Equalizer. I said unhand my king!! Take two steps back! Do you have any idea who you’re f*cking with, sir? Back off!"

The comments didn't end there:

"Just because he made The Equalizer doesn’t mean he is The Equalizer! It’s just a character, man. Reporter is rude though," one user pointed out.

"You can clearly see Denzel say "do not put your hands on me" and then the guy does it again. What a clown," someone else chimed in.

"The Pappz are incredible out of touch with real human emotions they got zero patience 2 wild. RESPECT LOVE DENZEL WASHINGTON HE SO REAL LIKE CALM DOWN ESPECIALLY AT THIS STAGE OF HIS CAREER HE TRIED OF THIER CHILDISH BEHAVIOURS THE GOAT ON AND OFF SCREEN," another chimed in.

"Denzel overacting showing arrogance . Big deal being approached by a jurnalist , besides being his job. Never a fan of him," a fourth user claimed.

Here's how the rest of the internet is reacting:

"He asked the guy nicely twice to stop touching him. And then he grabbed his arm. He was purposely antagonizing Denzel. A good slap would have been acceptable," one user opined.

"This should be assault. If Denzel would’ve placed hands on him he’s out millions. Get these ppl in line! Dude was clearly looking for a pay day," someone else noted.

"Wow and he kept doing it, what a wank," yet another noted.

"Denzel to the dude he checked: King Kong ain't got nothing on me," a user quipped.

Users were visibly on Denzel Washington's side, though a handful of them felt like the reporters may have just been doing their jobs.

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A body language expert named Judi James told Metro of the heated interaction:

"As he turns to walk away though the other man seems to grab his entire arm in what would possibly have been a complete disregard for Denzel’s initial and very authoritative ‘request’, which looks like an acceleration that could easily have led to a loss of control, but Denzel’s response now looks like some form of trained reaction as he pushes the arm away in a three-move gesture, grabbing at the man’s wrist to detach firmly. His point now seems to come with a ‘Stop it!’, but the suggestion from his non-verbal signals is that he is being firm but without actually losing his temper."

Nonetheless, the night was special for Denzel Washington as he was bestowed with a surprise honorary Palme d’Or award by director Spike Lee later that same night.

"This is a total surprise for me, so I'm a little emotional, but from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all. It was a great opportunity to collaborate with my brother once again — brother from another mother, Spike,” Washington said during his speech. "To be here once again in Cannes, you know, we're a very privileged group in this room that we get to make movies and wear tuxedos and nice clothes and dress up and get paid for it as well," Washington added, to some laughter in the room. "You know, we're just blessed beyond measure, I'm blessed beyond measure, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all. Thank you."

Metro has also reported that the renowned film festival made tweaks to its schedule to accommodate the actor's timings, which came on the one day off he had from performing Othello in New York.

As for their forthcoming movie, Highest 2, the Oscar-winning actor, Spike, and A$AP, received a standing ovation for their work in it, which also happens to mark Denzel Washington and Lee's first collaboration in almost two decades, their fifth overall.