We've Been Saying Denzel's Name Wrong This Whole Time

You know that feeling when you’re so sure of something—like bet-your-last-dollar, argue-with-a-stranger-on-Twitter level sure—only to find out you’ve been completely wrong? Yeah. That was me with how to pronounce Denzel Washington’s name. I grew up saying “Den-ZELL.” You probably did too. It’s basically how every awards show host, red carpet interviewer and your mom says it. But, apparently, we’ve all been living a lie. And the correction didn’t come from a random internet thread, it came straight from the man himself.

During an appearance on the September 2 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Washington, 70, dropped the truth bomb after Jimmy Kimmel, 57, mentioned that there are now four NFL players named Denzel. “There weren't that many before your first Oscar. There were zero in 1987,” Jimmy noted.

Then came the reveal. “And this is how you know they named themselves after me, because my name’s not pronounced Den-ZELL,” the Equalizer star said casually. “It’s pronounced Den-ZEL.”

Cue the collective record scratch.

He went on to explain that he was named after his father, Denzel Hayes Washington, Sr., making him technically a Jr., and how the name mix-up started. “My mother would say ‘Denzel,’ and we’d both show up,” he said. “So she said, from now on, you’re Denzel.”

The revelation comes on the heels of Washington's latest film, Highest to Lowest, his fifth collaboration with director Spike Lee. The film is a modern-day reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, now set in gritty NYC. It follows David King (Washington), an influential music mogul whose morality is tested when his son is kidnapped and also features Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera and A$AP Rocky.

Highest to Lowest hit theaters August 15 but, if you missed it, you can catch it on Apple TV starting September 5 and, according to PureWow Editor Jael Rucker's review of the film, it’s a definite must-watch.

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