[gtranslate]
News

Chadwick Boseman’s final posthumous tweet has become the most liked Twitter post in history

In a testament to the impact of actor Chadwick Boseman, the final tweet published on his account has become the most liked post in Twitter’s history.

Over the weekend it was announced that iconic actor Chadwick Boseman had passed away at the age of 43. After his death, it was revealed that Boseman, perhaps most widely known for his role as Black Panther in the Marvel franchise, had undergone a four year battle with colon cancer.

As the extent of the privacy surrounding Boseman’s diagnosis comes to light, the final tweet from the actor’s Twitter account, published posthumously by his family, has become the most liked post ever.

chadwick boseman twitter

The tweet was published on August 29, one day after the actor’s sudden death, and contains a written statement from Boseman’s family announcing the news, accompanied by a photo of the actor.

Following this, Twitter posted on their official account that it was the most-liked tweet in history.

“Fans are coming together on Twitter to celebrate the life of Chadwick Boseman, and the Tweet sent from his account last night is now the most Liked Tweet of all time on Twitter,” the company described. Prior to this, the most liked tweet ever was a Nelson Mandela quote posted by Obama in the wake of the Charlottesville car attack in 2017.

It’s since been revealed that Boseman’s diagnosis was kept so private that not even Black Panther director Ryan Coogler knew about it. “After his family released their statement, I realised that he was living with his illness the entire time I knew him,’’ Coogler said in a tribute published by the BBC.

Coogler went on to acknowledge Boseman’s profound influence on directorial decisions of 2018’s Black Panther, which led to the decision to use the ancient African language Xhosa after the actor relearned his lines on the spot.

“The decision to have Xhosa be the official language of Wakanda was solidified by Chad, a native of South Carolina, because he was able to learn his lines in Xhosa, there on the spot,” Coogler said.

“He also advocated for his character to speak with an African accent, so that he could present T’Challa to audiences as an African king, whose dialect had not been conquered by the West.”

“Because he was a caretaker, a leader, and a man of faith, dignity and pride, he shielded his collaborators from his suffering. He lived a beautiful life,” Coogler continued. “I haven’t grieved a loss this acute before.”

You can read Coogler’s tribute in its entirety here.

Following his diagnosis in 2016, Boseman went onto film numerous major movies including Avengers: Endgame, 21 Bridges, Da 5 Bloods, and Black Panther. In the statement released by Boseman’s family, they described that the Boseman worked on the movies “during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”

The final tweet penned by Boseman was published on August 12 in support of Democratic Vice President nominee, Kamala Harris.

Since the news of his death, actor Josh Gad has also taken to Twitter to reveal the final text he received from Boseman in which the actor expressed his appreciation for “the rare and peaceful sound of steady precipitation” and urged “take advantage of every moment”.