Seems like he’s made comments like this before.
Denzel misunderstood. They were saying “Denzel is near” as they saw him coming.
Beef with Tarantino
Denzel took exception to the number of racial slurs evident in Tarantino’s work, and when the director visited the set of “Crimson Tide,” Denzel let him have it.
When Tarantino tried to move the discussion to a more appropriate location, Denzel wouldn’t let him. He thinks Tarantino is a fine artist, but that he should take more care with racial slurs.