Host a private dinner for global icon Nelson Mandela, and you can expect a few uninvited guests to take notice.
During a talk show appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington shared a hilarious story detailing how fellow action star Sylvester Stallone tried to crash his exclusive home dinner party honoring the late South African president.
According to Washington, the high-profile gathering stemmed from a personal promise.
“Nelson Mandela had told me years earlier that when he came to the States, he wanted to come to our house and have my wife cook dinner for him,” Washington recalled.
When Mandela took him up on the offer, Washington and his wife, Pauletta, put together a star-studded guest list for the home event.
“We had amazing guests—Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, and a lot of important people,” Washington said.
However, the quiet, exclusive evening took an unexpected Hollywood turn thanks to Washington’s neighborhood geometry.
“Sylvester Stallone lived in the same gated community, and security came to tell me, ‘Mr. Stallone keeps walking back and forth in front of the house, trying to hop over the fence,’” Washington laughed.
Host Jonathan Ross teased Washington about keeping the Rocky legend locked outside. While Washington jokingly teased, “No, make him wait,” he quickly clarified that he spared Stallone the security escort.
“No, I let him in, of course,” Washington added, confirming that Stallone eventually got his seat at the table alongside Mandela, Winfrey, and the rest of the night’s historic company.
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