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Denzel Washington dipped early from Cannes on Monday for a good reason … and it had nothing to do with the heated red carpet exchange with an aggressive photographer.
A source close to the superstar tells TMZ … Mondays are DW’s only day off from his super-popular, totally sold-out run of “Othello” on Broadway in NYC — and the plan was to jet after his film’s festival screening in France.
Denzel was absent for the press conference after the world premiere of Spike Lee‘s “Highest 2 Lowest” … and there was some speculation in the media he bounced due to being pissed after telling a photog to act right, all caught on camera.
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But, our source tells us that is BS — Denzel simply needed to be back in NYC for a tiny bit of R&R before another intense week of critically acclaimed performances.
As you may recall, Denzel had to check a photog on the red carpet of his premiere when the guy got way too overzealous trying to get a shot … and then made the massive mistake of grabbing DW by the arm.
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A visibly irritated Denzel kept telling the dude to “stop” whatever it was he was doing — while it looked like the photographer was pleading his case for needing to accost him.
End of the day, we hear that Denzel had a fantastic time at Cannes — and was truly moved by the surprise Palme d’Or honor before the premiere.
