Denzel Washington has revealed what King Charles III told him during their flustered exchange at the Gladiator II premiere in London.
Washington talked about the moment on Jimmy Kimmel Live Monday night, after the video of the meeting went viral for Washington’s stammering and awkwardly telling him “I’m a lovely chap,” and saying “I didn’t know if I was supposed to grab your [hand],” in video of the exchange.
“That was a strange—you know, they got all these rules about you can’t be too close, let him speak first, don’t shake hands unless he shakes your hand, and I forgot it all, I forgot everything,” Washington told Kimmel. “That was my first king, that I remember.”
As the video of the encounter circulated online, one social media user claimed that Washington was was instructed to “go inside because the king was here but he told security ‘i make my own rules’ and continued to talk to us.” Though the user later clarified that Washington hadn’t actually said that and “he just went inside later than everyone else because he wanted to say hi to the fans,” the story had already taken on a life of its own and is likely to continue producing memes long into the future.
But Washington told Kimmel Monday that he doesn’t believe his rules are more important than King Charles, seemingly referencing the viral fake story. As for what the King told him during the exchange, “It was just small talk,” Washington said. “He said he loved all my movies,” he joked.
Pressed on whether the king admitted to seeing all of his movies, Washington added, “Yeah that’s what he said, ‘all of ‘em.’ Don’t get me in trouble with the King!”
