It's understandable that someone might feel a wave of emotions after being nominated for an Academy Award and then not being declared the winner. That seemed to be the case Sunday night, when Denzel Washington reacted to Casey Affleck's Oscar win and looked genuinely upset about his loss. It's unclear what was truly going through his mind at that moment, but there is no doubt that Washington seemed sad about losing out to Best Actor to Affleck, who won for Manchester By the Sea.
After Affleck took the stage to accept his award, the Oscar winner mentioned Washington. He explained how he learned acting from the Fences actor and met him for the first time Sunday evening. Affleck even went onto thank the actor. The camera then panned to Washington, who did not react whatsoever to Affleck's words, save for an expressionless face.
You can say and believe what you want, but it truly appears that Washington was bummed about losing. Yes, he already has two Oscars under his belt, but why wouldn't he want a third? Again, who knows if this is what Washington was thinking or feeling at the exact moment Affleck mentioned his name. Whatever the case, he did not smile once.
Before you judge him or throw shade Washington's way, it's impossible to know what was happening at this exact moment. Maybe he'll explain it in an interview at some point in time, but until then, let's take it easy on him and try not to blow the moment out of proportion.
