Did actor Denzel Washington drop out of a $500 million project with Netflix, saying, "The company has gone woke"? No, that's not true: The report first appeared on a satirical website known for publishing made-up content. Washington's public relations representative told Lead Stories that the report is a "complete fabrication."
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on August 1, 2024. Above the image of Denzel Washington, the caption said:
Breaking: Denzel Washington Drops Out of $500 Million Project With Netflix, 'The Company Has Gone Woke'
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Aug 6 17:26:39 2024 UTC)
In the comment section, the author of the post linked to a weeknews247.com article (archived here) titled, "Breaking: Denzel Washington Drops Out of $500 Million Project With Netflix, 'The Company Has Gone Woke.'" Weeknews247.com's article has grammatical errors throughout and there are no credible media organizations linked to its citations.
Washington's representative at Rogers & Cowan PMK agency confirmed to Lead Stories in an August 6, 2024, email that this is a false claim:
[This claim is a] complete fabrication
Lead Stories searched using keywords on Google, visible here, which located an August 6, 2024, Facebook post (archived here) on an account called SpaceX Fanclub featuring the exact claim beneath a side-by-side image of Washington and the Netflix logo.
Linked to this post is an Esspots.com article (archived here) titled, "Breaking: Denzel Washington Drops Out of $500 Million Project With Netflix, 'The Company Has Gone Woke.'" Underneath the disclaimer tab on this website, it reads:
Welcome to Esspots.com, a website that specializes in satire, parody, and humor. Before you proceed to read our content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this website is real. All of the articles, stories, and commentary found on Esspots.com are entirely fictitious and created for the purpose of entertainment only.
A further search of the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook account revealed a July 31, 2024, post (archived here) featuring the exact claim and Esspots.com article, which is linked in the comment section. This is most likely where this claim originated.
In an April 12, 2024, fact check, Lead Stories also debunked claims that Mel Gibson and Mark Walburg co-created a "non-woke" film production studio, and Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood joined forces to launch "Non-Woke Movie Production Studio."
Additional Lead Stories fact checks mentioning Denzel Washington can be read here. Additional fact checks mentioning the Esspots website can be read here.
