Comedian KevOnStage posted a TikTok video of Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington on The Graham Norton Show in 2013, telling the host the correct way to pronounce his first name.
Most people pronounce the highly regarded actor's name as Den-Zel, with emphasis on the "el," however, Washington clarified that his name is actually pronounced Den-Zil.
In the resurfaced clip, the Man on Fire actor explains to Graham Norton that he was named after his father, and when his mother would call one of them, both of them would show up, so she decided to call her son Denzel.
Despite his explanation, Twitter refused to accept this tidbit of information about one of their favorite actors and posted some hilarious responses about attributing the correct accent to his beloved name.
So Denzel Washington’s name is actually pronounced Denzil. 😳 pic.twitter.com/e1xabZ2QDE
— Kevín (@KevOnStage) February 24, 2022
Denzil sound like a garnish. Denzel is the name of the actor in all my favorite movies.
— Kyle Kruedelbach (@Kruedel) February 24, 2022
No TF it’s not 😂
— Alisa Adams 👩🏽💻 (@510Alisa) February 24, 2022
“His mama named him Denzel…I’m gonna call him Denzel” pic.twitter.com/Lv9ntEd52I
— Derek with a M (@mdg0421) February 24, 2022
He could have kept this to himself honestly 😂
— Dutchess of Hastings 🇳🇬🇹🇹 (@stilettochamp) February 24, 2022
To kinda quote the Mrs. from the “uno” video: 🗣 “HIS MAMA DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY HIS NAME EITHER!”
— P.U.R.R (@jess_anni) February 24, 2022
A Den-zuhl sounds like something you get on your foot. I love LOVE Den-Zelle 😍😋
— The Librarian (@thelibrariene) February 24, 2022
Washington earned his 10th Oscar nomination for his role in The Tragedy of Macbeth and is the most Academy Award-nominated Black actor in film history.
He has garnered nominations for his work in front of and behind the camera. He won two Academy Awards for Glory and Training Day and landed a best picture nomination as a producer for Fences, EW reports.
