Denzel Washington opens up about his relationship with Whitney Houston

Nearly 30 years after sharing the screen in the hit 1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife,” Denzel Washington looks back on his relationship with the late Whitney Houston.

In a June 15 conversation with Chaz Ebert, the widow of legendary film critic Roger Ebert, at the American Black Film Festival, the Academy Award-winning actor discussed his extraordinary accomplishments on and off screen and the time he spent with his “The Preacher’s Wife” co-star, Whitney. Houston before his untimely death in 2012.

Washington said that beneath Houston’s strong-willed exterior was a vulnerability that made him extremely protective of her.

“I always felt like I wanted to protect her. You know? She wanted to be so tough, but she really wasn’t. he said during the conversation, titled Denzel Washington Retrospective.

Washington’s words echoed the sentiments he shared during a October 2012 interview with GQ Magazinein which he acknowledged how hard Houston had worked to overcome the addiction that ultimately took his life at age 48.

“Whitney was my friend and she had such a successful recovery. And that’s the hardest part of addiction. And it was a monstrous drug that had taken hold of her, it was a nasty drug. You can’t go back to that one. Nobody is worth that,” he said at the time.

The “Greatest Love of All” singer was found in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2012. According to the Los Angeles County Coroner, Houston’s death was an accidental drowning with the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.”

During his conversation with Ebert, Washington also hinted at a major transition in his own career that could devastate fans.

“The things that happen professionally for me behind the camera are now as important to me as in front of the camera. I think I will spend less and less time in front of the camera. he said.