Denzel Washington Did NOT Strangle Aretha Franklin, Despite Misleading Report

Actor Denzel Washington did NOT strangle singer Aretha Franklin, despite an irresponsibly misleading tabloid report.Extreme Entertainment can help clear up this situation.

Earlier this week, a 20-year-old New Yorker who shares a name with the famous actor was arrested for assaulting his mother, who shares a name with the iconic soul singer. The man took a plea deal and was sentenced to a conditional discharge and an anger management program. But in what seems like an effort to cause confusion, the National Enquirer is reporting this story with the implication that the same namesake celebrities were the parties involved. The tabloid blares in a headline, “Denzel Washington Strangles Aretha Franklin,” along with a photo of the movie star and an NYPD squad-car (see right).

Of course, Washington the actor isn’t the subject of this narrative, but the magazine still decided to sell its report as if the Oscar-winner had committed a crime against the famous Franklin. In fact, the outlet doesn’t clarify that the man at the center of the story “shares a name with the Magnificent Seven star” until the very last paragraph of its purposefully deceptive article. The Enquirer is clearly trying to trick its readers by taking advantage of the coincidence in names, but don’t let the frequently unreliable tabloid fool you. Washington the actor and Franklin the singer have nothing do with this crime.