Denzel Washington receives surprise honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes
premiere for 'Highest 2 Lowest'
[May 20, 2025]
By JAKE COYLE
CANNES, France (AP) — Denzel Washington sandwiched a whirlwind trip to
the Cannes Film Festival, in between Broadway performances, for the
premiere of Spike Lee's “Highest 2 Lowest” on Monday — and was rewarded
with a surprise: an honorary Palme d'Or.
Cannes had flipped around some of its scheduling to accommodate
Washington's speedy France trip, which came on his lone off-day while
performing “Othello” in New York. Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry
Frémaux surprised Washington with the award before the Monday night
premiere.
“This is my brother, right here,” said the film’s director, Spike Lee,
who passed the award to Washington.
“This is a total surprise for me,” said Washington.
The festival usually gives out one or two honorary Palmes each edition —
last year, the awardees were Studio Ghibli and George Lucas. Last week,
Robert De Niro received one on the festival's opening night. De Niro's
award was announced in advance, but surprise prizes aren't unheard of:
In 2022, Tom Cruise was presented with a surprise honorary Palme d'Or
just before the screening of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
The premiere also had another surprise: Rihanna attended and walked the
carpet afterward with partner A$AP Rocky. Earlier this month, she
revealed at the Met Gala that she was pregnant with their third child.
While the festival's photo calls usually happen the day after a film's
premiere, Cannes hosted one for “Highest 2 Lowest” earlier Monday so
Washington could attend. The actor, playfully posing with Lee and
co-star A$AP Rocky, showed no signs of jet lag and left once the
screening began.
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Denzel Washington, left, poses for photographers upon arrival at the
premiere of the film 'Highest 2 Lowest' at the 78th international
film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 19, 2025. (Photo
by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
“He told me to tell you: Thank you for the love,” Lee told the crowd
after the screening. “He's on Broadway doing ‘Othello,’ so it really
took a lot for him to fly here. Let's give it up for Denzel Washington,
please.”
Lee also came to Cannes with obligations back in New York on his mind.
He arrived at the film’s premiere decked out in Knicks colors and
wearing a blue and orange striped suit. Lee ended his brief speech in
the Palais by hollering: “New York Knicks!”
That Washington would be able to make the trip had been a sticking point
for Cannes. When the festival first announced its lineup last month,
“Highest 2 Lowest” wasn't included. Within hours, however, Lee himself
announced the film was heading to Cannes. Representatives for the
festival said they had been waiting for confirmation that Washington
would attend to walk the red carpet.
“Highest 2 Lowest,” a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 film “High and
Low,” will be released in theaters by A24 on Aug. 22 before streaming on
Apple TV+ on Sept. 5.
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