A tweet sent from Chadwick Boseman's Twitter account on Friday Announcement of the actor's death and to announce his perseverance and fighting spirit is now the most popular tweet of all time.
"A tribute to a king," said the official Twitter account in Saturday Announcement of the recording. "WakandaForever"
The record breaking tweet from Boseman's account, sent Friday night at 7:11 p.m., features a black and white photo of the Black Panther star with a big, bright grin and equally smiling eyes. Along with the picture, there is a statement from Boseman's family that he died after battling colon cancer for four years.
The actor died Friday at his Los Angeles home with his wife and other members of his family, Boseman's publicist Nicki Fioravante told Associated Press.
"A true fighter, Chadwick went through it all and brought you many of the films that you loved so much," the statement said. "From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, Ma Wiliney's Black Bottom by August Wilson and a few more - all of them were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was his career honor to bring King T'Challa to life in Black Panther."
At the time of this writing, the tweet from Boseman's account was liked 5.9 million times. That far exceeds that by a million previous record holder, broadcast in August 2017 by former President Barack Obama.
"Nobody is born because they hate another person because of their skin color, background or religion," reads Obama's tweet next to a picture in which he is standing by an open window and smiling at a small, diverse group of children. This tweet garnered 4.3 million likes.
The news of Boseman's death stunned the world as he had not publicly shared his battle with cancer. Many on social media expressed both shock and admiration that the actor continued to produce films during his illness, and many were deeply touched by a widespread video on Saturday of Boseman speaking of Ian and Taylor, two children with cancer in the final stages he had been in Touch while filming for Black Panther.
The children's parents, Boseman said in the video, reported that Ian and Taylor tried to hold on until the 2018 Marvel superhero movie came out. We now know that Boseman was having his own cancer battle when he spoke of the kids, which made the footage all the more poignant.
That is courage. This is humanity.
Please take 2 minutes to listen to Chadwick Boseman's words here.
Break out the handkerchiefs.
He was also dealing with his own colon cancer at the time. And never said a word.
In real life, superhero.
Rest sir. " pic.twitter.com/PaFaPjChWY
- Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) 29th August 2020
The tributes to Boseman continued to flood social media on Saturday from fans around the world, as well as numerous coworkers including the Russo brothers, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, Issa Rae and Viola Davis.
"Your legacy will live on forever," tweeted Marvel Studios. DC Comics also shared a tribute, "To a hero who transcends universes. Wakanda Forever."
Mark Mann
