At 68, Denzel Washington Finally Speak Up About Chadwick Boseman

I cried a little bit when I saw Black Panther.

I don’t know if the word is relieved, but I was proud to see what they had done.

Denel Washington knew a secret about Chadwick Boseman.

It is a secret he only understood after it was all too late.

For years, we saw their amazing fullcircle story.

But we never knew what Denzel saw behind the scenes.

We never knew what he was watching.

At 68, Denzel finally did speak up.

He revealed the private, heartbreaking truth of what he saw.

What did he witness in Chadwick’s final days? And what did he say that changes how we see their entire story? We are about to tell you everything.

A dream of Oxford.

nine theater students from Howard University who had been accepted to a summer acting program at the British Academy of Dramatic Acting in Oxford.

To understand what Denzel finally said, you have to go all the way back, back to before the world knew the name Chadwick Boseman, back to when he was a student at Howard University.

Most people think Chadwick always wanted to be an actor, but that is not the truth.

Chadwick’s first dream was to be a writer and a director.

He even wrote his first play while still in high school.

At Howard, he was known for his writing.

He was a part of the hip hop theater movement.

He wrote powerful plays like hieroglyphic graffiti.

He wrote another play called Deep Azure.

It was a serious story based on a friend he knew at Howard who a police officer killed.

Chadwick wanted to tell important stories.

He was studying directing.

But then a new dream came along.

Chadwick and nine of his friends at Howard got a life-changing chance.

They were accepted into a very special summer program.

[music] It was the British American Drama Academyy’s Midsummer program.

It was at Oxford University in England.

This was a huge deal.

But there was a problem.

A heartbreaking problem.

They all got in, but none of them could afford to go.

They were just college students and the cost was thousands of dollars.

They had the talent but not the money.

It looked like the dream was dead before it even started.

But what they did not know was that someone was about to change their lives forever.

Someone they had never even met.

Felicia Rashad’s call.

The loss of him means that there are stories he intended to tell that that won’t be told.

[snorts] The students were not alone.

They had a teacher who believed in them.

That teacher was the legendary actress Felicia Rashad.

You might know her from the Cosby Show.

At Howard, she was a professor and a mentor.

Felicia Rashad saw the massive talent in Chadwick and the other students.

She knew they could not let this chance slip away.

She was not going to let money be the reason their dreams died.

So she did what any great mentor would do.

She got on the phone.

Felicia started calling her friends.

She called powerful people in the industry asking them to help these kids.

One of those calls was to another living legend.

She called Denzel Washington.

Think about this.

Denzel Washington is one of the biggest stars on the planet.

[music] He gets calls for help all the time.

Felicia Rashad called him and explained the situation.

There are nine brilliant students.

They got into Oxford.

They cannot afford it.

Can you help? And what did Denzel say? He said yes.

Just like that.

But here is the most important part.

When Denzel said yes, he did not ask who the students were.

He did not ask to see their grades.

He did not ask if they were going to be famous one day.

He just said, “Yes, I will help.

” Why? Why would he do that? The answer to that question goes back to Denzel’s own childhood, and it is the secret to his whole life.

The mentor’s secret.

He stood about 5’9 in tall, but he was a giant.

Billy Thomas.

Denzel Washington did not grow up as a rich movie star.

He grew up in Mount Vernon, New York.

And life was tough.

He has talked about this.

He said in his own words that many of his childhood friends took a very different path.

They had run-ins with the law.

They ended up in prison.

Denzel looked back at his life and said, “That could have been me.

So, what made the difference? [music] What saved Denzel? He says it was one place and one man.

The place was the Boys and Girls Club of Mount Vernon.

His parents worked long hours, so after school he went to the club.

That club was his home.

It was a safe place that kept him off the streets.

It was where he learned to play ball, to focus, and to have goals.

The man was his mentor, Billy Thomas.

Billy worked at the club.

Denzel looked up to him so much he copied everything Billy did.

He walked like Billy.

He shot a foul shot like Billy.

He even practiced signing his name with a flourish just like Billy did.

That club and that mentor saved his life.

Denzel knows this.

That is why he has been the national spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America for over 20 years.

He even wrote a book all about mentors and how important they are.

So now let’s go back to that phone call.

Felicia Rashad calls Denzel Washington.

She is asking for money to help some students.

Denzel does not hear a bother.

He hears a chance.

He hears a chance to be for those kids what Billy Thomas was for him.

He was not just giving money.

He was repaying a debt.

He was planting a seed hoping it would grow.

He had no idea just how big that seed would grow.

The benefactor.

Your tuition for that summer was paid for and that your benefactor was none other than the dopest actor on the planet.

Back at Howard University, Chadwick Boseman was waiting.

He was probably worried.

He and his friends were so close to their dream, but so far away.

And then a letter arrived.

The letter said that his tuition for the summer program was paid for.

It was done.

He was going to Oxford.

But who paid for it? [music] Chadwick had no idea.

Denzel did it quietly.

He wanted it to be anonymous.

The letter just said it was from a private benefactor.

So Chadwick and the other students went to England.

They studied Shakespeare.

They lived at Oxford University.

They had an amazing summer that changed [music] all of their lives.

One of the other students on that same trip was Susan Khichi Watson, who you now know as Beth Pearson from the show This Is Us.

Denzel paid for her, too.

For a long time, Chadwick did not know who his secret helper was.

It was only later that he found out the truth.

Years later, Chadwick would describe what that moment felt like.

He said, “Imagine receiving a letter that your summer tuition is all paid for and then you find out your benefactor is none other than the dopest actor on the planet.

” That one act of kindness from a man he had never met pushed Chadwick down a new path, the path of a worldclass actor.

But here is the question.

When did they finally meet? When did the student get to thank the mentor, the pre-war mayor? Y’all back up and leave alone.

Oh, come on, Levy.

We was all just having fun.

That meeting would not happen for many, many years.

Chadwick Boseman, the student that Denzel paid for, became a star.

First, he played Jackie Robinson.

Then, he played James Brown.

He was blowing people away.

And then, he became a king.

He was cast as Tchala the Black Panther.

The premiere for the movie Black Panther in New York was a massive event.

It was one of the biggest nights in movie history.

And Denzel Washington was there.

He was there to see the movie.

Chadwick saw him.

This was it.

This was the moment.

He was no longer a poor college student.

He was the star of the biggest movie in the world.

He walked up to Denzel Washington to finally, after all those years, thank him in person.

He went up to Denzel and said, “I just want to thank you for paying for my school.

” He was probably nervous.

He was meeting the man who was his hero, his benefactor.

And what did Denzel do? Did he give a big speech? Did he get emotional? No.

Denzel looked at him with a straight face and cracked the perfect joke.

He told this story later.

He said he told Chadwick, “Yeah, that’s why I’m here.

I’m not here to see the movie.

I like the movie Black Panther Wakanda Forever, but where’s my money?” It was the perfect joke from a mentor to his student.

It broke the ice.

It was Denzel’s way of saying, “I see you.

I am proud of you.

my investment paid off.

Denzel later said that when he watched the movie, he actually shed a tear.

He said he felt like these young guys were taking over.

He felt like the baton had been passed.

The joke at the premiere was a funny private moment.

But the real payment that was still to come and it would be in front of the whole world.

The speech.

Let he who has watered be watered.

Let he who has given be given to.

If the premiere was the private thank you, this next part was the public payment.

The date was June 6th, 2019.

Denzel Washington was receiving the highest honor you can get as an actor.

He was getting the AFI Life Achievement Award.

The room was filled with legends.

Spike Lee, Julia Roberts, Morgan Freeman, everyone was there to honor Denzel.

And who did they choose to come on stage and present the award? Chadwick Boseman.

This was his chance.

This was not a joke on a red carpet.

This was Chadwick’s moment to pay Denzel back, not with money, but with words.

And the speech he gave is one of the most powerful moments in Hollywood history.

He walked on that stage and he told the whole world the entire story.

He told everyone about being a student at Howard.

He told them about Felicia Rashad and the nine students who could not afford to go to Oxford.

He told them about the secret benefactor.

He said Denzel’s gift was more than money.

He called it an offering from a sage and a king.

He said it was not just silver and gold.

It was a seed of hope.

And then he said the line that made the whole room burst into applause.

The line that proves the circle was complete.

He looked at Denzel and he said, “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington.

” He did not just mean because of the money.

He explained.

He said that his whole generation of actors, people like Michael B.

Jordan and the whole Black Panther cast, they were all standing on Denzel’s shoulders.

He said the daily battles Denzel won, the many sacrifices he made, the things he refused to compromise in his career, all of those things laid the blueprints for them to follow.

He ended his speech by saying, “Let he who has watered be watered.

Let he who has given be given to.

” It was perfect.

The student had now become the king and he gave all the credit to the king who came before him.

Their story was complete.

A beautiful full circle moment.

But fate, it turned out, had one more chapter for them, a final heartbreaking chapter.

A fateful collaboration.

How the hell you going to be sorry when he done ruined my shoe? Come talk about sorry.

After the AFI speech, their story was public.

But their work was not done.

Denzel Washington had a new passion.

He had a deal to bring the plays of one of the greatest American writers, August Wilson, to the screen.

He had already directed the movie Fences.

Now he was a producer on the next film.

It was called Ma Rainey’s Blackbottom.

The movie is about a tense afternoon in a 1920s recording studio with a legendary blues singer.

There was a key role in the movie, the role of Levy.

Levy is the ambitious, fast-talking, fiery young trumpet player who wants to change the world with his music.

It is a very difficult role full of joy, pain, and a lot of anger.

Denzel, the producer, needed a brilliant actor to play Levy, and he knew exactly who to call.

He hired Chadwick Boseman.

Think about this.

The man who paid for Chadwick’s acting classes was now the producer hiring [snorts] him for his passion project.

The mentor and [music] the mentee were now working together.

Peers.

The student was now sharing the screen with Viola Davis in a movie produced by Denzel Washington.

This was the ultimate payoff for Denzel’s investment.

But on that movie set, something was wrong.

Denzel Washington was there watching.

And he saw something that worried him.

He saw the secret that Chadwick was hiding from the world.

And this is what Denzel at 68 finally spoke up about.

The Secret on a Set.

It has been the most challenging two years I’ve ever had in my life.

This is the part of the story that changes everything.

When Chadwick Boseman gave that powerful speech at the AFI Awards, he was sick.

When he was filming Moreni’s Black Bottom, he was very, very sick.

In 2016, Chadwick was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer.

He had been fighting that terrible disease for four years, all while making his biggest movies.

All while he was Black Panther, all while he was at the AFI Awards, and he told no [music] one.

He showed up to the set of Ma Rainy’s Black Bottom to work with his mentor Denzel, [music] and he was in the middle of his battle.

He was in pain.

He was undergoing chemotherapy.

Denzel Washington was a producer on the movie.

He was on set.

He was watching his young star and he could tell something [snorts] was off.

This is what Denzel finally spoke up about after it was all over.

He said in an interview that he was watching Chadwick.

He said, “I wondered if something was wrong.

” He said Chadwick seemed weak sometimes.

He seemed tired.

But here is the thing.

Denzel had no idea he had cancer.

He just thought he was tired.

He said Chadwick never said a peep about it.

He never complained.

He just did his job.

And what a job it was.

The role of Levy is one of the hardest you can play.

It is full of raw emotional scenes.

There is one scene where Levy screams at his bandmates about God.

He pulls out a knife.

He is crying.

[music] He is challenging God.

The director of the movie said they did those emotional scenes 5, 10, 15 [music] times.

And every single time, Chadwick gave it his entire being.

Denzel Washington was watching this.

He was watching a man who seemed weak and tired suddenly explode with power and anger and pain over and over again.

He was watching an actor pouring the last bit of his life force into his work.

Denzel was witnessing one of the bravest performances in movie history.

He just did not know it at the time.

He did not know Chadwick was sick.

But Denzel did speak up about something else he saw on set.

something private.

The private advice.

It’s great, but I’m dead.

So, I don’t I can’t answer any questions about that.

Oh, okay.

So, you don’t want to give us a spoiler or anything like that? I’m dead.

Denzel was not just watching Chadwick.

He was also watching Chadwick’s partner, Taylor Simone Ledward.

At the time, they were dating.

Simone was on set with Chadwick everyday, and she was taking care of him.

Denzel finally spoke up about what he saw.

In an interview, he said he used to just watch how she took care of him.

He saw her keeping her eye on him.

He saw her watching him, making sure he was okay.

Denzel was so moved by what he saw, he pulled Chadwick aside.

One day, he decided to give his mentee some fatherly advice.

He told Chadwick, “Man, you know, you need to put a ring on that finger.

” Denzel said he told him, “Man, she loves that guy.

” Think about this for a second.

Denzel is giving this advice thinking he is just seeing a wonderful, loving girlfriend.

He had no idea what he was really seeing.

He was not just seeing a girlfriend.

He was seeing a caregiver.

He was seeing a woman who was helping her partner fight a secret daily battle for his life.

Her care was not just love.

It was a lifeline.

Denzel said it later.

He said, “But I didn’t know what we know now.

” Denzel Washington, the mentor, had his arm around his student, giving him life advice, all while being the only witness to a secret battle he could not understand.

Chadwick took his mentor’s advice.

He and Taylor Simone Ledward got married in secret.

They were married before he passed away.

The final word.

The movie Marini’s Black Bottom finished filming.

It would be Chadwick’s final performance.

And then on August 28th, 2020, the world stopped.

The news broke.

Chadwick Boseman was gone.

He had died at 43 from colon cancer.

The world was in shock.

The secret was finally out.

And for Denzel Washington, all those moments on set suddenly made sense.

The weakness, the tiredness, the incredible power in his acting, the way Simone cared for him.

Denzel finally understood what he had been watching.

This is when Denzel Washington truly spoke up.

Right away, he released a statement.

He said he was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career.

God bless Chadwick Boseman.

He later called Chadwick a man among men.

He said he suffered quietly.

He made the movie and nobody knew.

He said, “Good for him, keeping it to himself.

” But his most powerful words, the ones that truly show what he, as a mentor, finally understood, came a little later.

He was on a panel for the Toronto International Film Festival.

He was asked about Chadwick’s death.

He was asked about the tragedy of a life cut so short.

And Denzel, the elder statesman, the man who started it all with a simple check, spoke up.

He set the record straight.

He said, “Who knew he didn’t have much life left?” But he didn’t get cheated.

We did.

He said he prays for his poor wife and his family.

They got cheated.

But Chadwick, Denzel said he lived a full life.

This was Denzel’s final word on his student.

He was not a victim.

He was a hero.

He did not lose.

He completed his mission.

He fit an entire lifetime of work and legacy into just a few years.

The story of Denzel Washington and Chad Wick Boseman started with a quiet anonymous check.

It was a seed of hope planted by a mentor who was just paying forward the kindness he once received.

That seed grew into a king.

And in their final heartbreaking project together, the mentor watched as his student gave his last full measure of devotion.

Denzel finally spoke up and showed us that he was watching a man who was proving he was truly a man among men.

Denzel’s investment was paid back a thousand times over.