Denzel Washington rips Jerry Jones, state of Cowboys on ‘First Take’

Celebrity Cowboys fan and Hollywood A-lister Denzel Washington ripped owner Jerry Jones during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take.” 

Washington and Spike Lee were appearing on the ESPN program to promote their new movie “Highest 2 Lowest” when the Cowboys came up, and the two-time Academy Award-winning actor took aim at the the franchise’s owner. 

“I’ve been a Cowboys fan since the ’60s. He’s making it hard for me,” Washington said about Jones. “Not to be a fan, because I’m still a Cowboys fan. I’m still going to have the star on the side of the hat, but he ain’t thinking about us. He’s thinking about his pocket.” 

The Cowboys are in the middle of a very public and terse negotiation with star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who is looking for a contract extension. 

Parsons has expressed a desire to be traded elsewhere after negotiations continued to stall and the Cowboys’ owner seemed to take shots at the football player through comments in the media. 

The Cowboys are coming off a disappointing season in 2024, where the team missed the postseason. 

“There’s box office and there’s Oscars, Jerry,” an intense-looking Washington said into the camera. “Been a while, huh? Ain’t been to the show, you wouldn’t know… what it is to win.” 

“And I love the Cowboys!” Washington added. “I love the Cowboys. Because I really love them, this is why I feel the way I feel.”

But Washington got one final shot in at Jones when he paraphrased a tagline for the movie: “All money ain’t good money, Jerry.”

The Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl title since 1995 and haven’t made it beyond the divisional round in that span either, further upsetting fans of the struggling franchise. 

Before last season, Dallas did make it to the postseason in three straight seasons, but fell well short in each of those appearances.