Denzel Washington wanted to ‘protect’ Whitney Houston on the set of ‘The Preacher’s Wife’

Denzel Washington wanted to “protect” Whitney Houston when he worked with her on “The Preacher’s Wife.”
The “Man on Fire” actor, 69, starred as Dudley alongside the tragic singer in the Oscar-nominated 1996 film, in which Whitney played Julia Biggs – 16 years before her death at the age of 48 years old following an accidental drowning, with contributing factors of heart disease and cocaine use.
Nearly three decades after the film’s release, Denzel said during his retrospective at the African Black Film Festival that he felt protective of the “I Will Always Love You” singer: “I felt like I always wanted to protect her.”
Event host Chaz Ebert – who is the widow of the late film critic Roger Ebert – added: “You saw a vulnerability. »
Denzel asked, “So you really got it?” and when Chaz, 71, said she did, the actor continued: “Well, of course. I always felt like I wanted to protect her. You know?
“She wanted to be very tough, but she really wasn’t. That’s all. All right.”
‘The Preacher’s Wife’ was a remake of 1947’s ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ and also starred Courtney B Vance, Jenifer Lewis, Gregory Hines and Justin Pierre Edmund – while Lionel Richie, Loretta Devine and Whitney’s mother Cissy Houston , also had roles.
Whitney reportedly grew close to several actors, and Courtney, 64, who played her husband Reverend Henry Biggs in the family film, said he was impressed by the singer.
He added: “I loved him so much. For me to play her husband, I was in a state of euphoric shock.
“It was a turning point in my life and Whitney played a very important role in it.
“We were just on sets together and we respected each other.
“But I didn’t delve into what was going on in his life.”
He also admitted he was too devastated to attend her funeral, adding: “It could have hurt my spirit.” And I think about our time together and it was beautiful.