Denzel Washington, star of the just-dropped Equalizer sequel, would like Chadwick Boseman to reimburse him for some pre–Black Panther school funding he provided.
On Thursday's Late Show, Washington joked with host Stephen Colbert about bumping into Boseman at the Black Panther premiere in New York and asking for a payout. "Am I?" Washington said when Colbert suggested he was partially responsible for Boseman's breakout Panther success. "Oh, because I paid for him to go to school."
Washington explained that, years ago, he was asked to contribute to a program that provided tuition for students to do an Oxford University study exchange. Washington's contributions ended up funding Boseman's way, which the Howard student thanked him for over the phone, and again at the Marvel premiere. "I went to the premiere for Black Panther here in New York and I saw Ryan Coogler and Chad and he said, 'Oh, I just wanted to thank you for paying...' I said, 'Yeah that’s why I'm here.' I like the movie Black Panther, yeah, good, Wakanda forever, but where's my money?"
Boseman previously gave his side of the story during an appearance on theTonight Show back in March, offering up a slight variant on what Washington told him at the premiere. "He said, 'You know, I haven't met you yet,' and I said, 'I gotta tell you something, you paid for me to go to school,'" Boseman said. "And he said, 'Oh, so that's why I'm here, you owe me money. I came to collect.'"
As for the possibility of catching Washington in a superhero movie anytime soon, don't count on it. "Nobody asked me," Washington told Colbert when asked why he hasn't taken the plunge. "What would I be? I'll be the father of the superhero." The two-time Academy Award winner also discussed hanging with Nelson Mandela, making fried chicken for Michael Jackson, and more. Catch the full discussion up top.
