Denzel Washington Reflects Sadly On Whitney Houston In GQ Interview
A recent interview with GQ offers fans an unprecedented look into the personal life of actor Denzel Washington. The star is almost as well known for his closely-guarded privacy as he is for his stellar career, so when he talks about his relationships, like his friendship with the late Whitney Houston for example, it’s hard not to pay attention to him.
Washington co-starred with Whitney Houston in the 1996 remake of The Preacher’s Wife, and says that the troubled singer was not the diva her image had led us to believe she was, reports LimeLife. Washington calls her a “sweet, sweet girl … a humble girl” who died due to the “monster drug that got ahold of her,” he says.
“It’s more of an example to me or the rest of us to keep it together,” he says. “I was listening to her song ‘I Look to You’. It’s prophetic. Maybe I’m speaking out of line. Maybe she thought she could have one. And then the next thing you know, her body was betraying her. She didn’t know that her body was aging quickly. She couldn’t take it. Your body can only take so much.”
Remarking that “Some people survive [Hollywood and fame], and some people don’t,” Washington compared Houston’s struggle to other stars.
“You can’t go back to that one. Nobody beats that. I look at people — and I don’t think I’m speaking out of line — Sam Jackson, I’ve known for thirty-some-odd years, he was down at the bottom,” Washington says. “And he came all the way back. And when he cleaned up, he never looked back. But he can’t have that beer, because it might lead to the tough thing.”
That’s what was so tragic about Houston’s story, notes M&C; that she overcame her addictions, but could not overcome relapse like others.
“Whitney was my girl, and she had done so well in recovery. And that is the toughest part about addiction. And that was a monster drug that got a hold of her, it was a mean one,” Washington lamented.
For the rest of the interview, check out GQ‘s October cover story with Denzel Washington. Did you know that Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston were friends?
