Denzel Washington was having none of Casey Affleck’s Oscars speech

Denzel Washington was crushed when he lost Best Actor to Casey Affleck, and it broke everyone’s heart.

The Oscars went about exactly as expected, with Casey Affleck winning Best Actor for his role in Manchester By The Sea. But while he was long favored to win the award, there was a late surge of support for Denzel Washington to win the award for his work on Fences.

Washington poured his heart and his soul into the film, one that has been with him for years. He was instrumental in the Tony Award winning stage play the film was based on, and took that to the screen with his work

During Affleck’s speech, cameras cut to Denzel Washington, who was visibly moved by not winning an award he so clearly wanted — badly.

https://twitter.com/mashable/status/836076724454633472

That’s tough to see, and it compounds the anger over Affleck winning the award. Truthfully, the late game support for Denzel was like when people flock to a store that is closing forever. They weren’t around when it mattered but showed up when it was too late.

Affleck deserved the award for his performance as much as Denzel Washington did, and he was the favorite far longer than his competitor was. That doesn’t ease the pain of seeing Denzel lose this award and then get lost in his feelings about it.

People of the internet were not having it either. As soon as Affleck won, backlash started on Twitter which only intensified when we saw Denzel’s reaction.

https://twitter.com/WilliamsTony14/status/836078420782112768

Denzel losing this award was about more than just him losing to Affleck. This was a reflection of the general under-appreciation of his career. He’s one of the finest actors of his generation — if not the finest — yet he still comes up short.