The final tweet on Chadwick Boseman‘s Twitter account has broken the record for most likes on the social media platform in less than 24 hours.
Boseman’s death due to colon cancer at the age of 43 years old shocked the world on Friday night, as the Black Panther star did not make his diagnosis public. His family announced his passing on Twitter, where they said it was “the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”
— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020
Twitter later confirmed that the announcement of Boseman’s death is now the most-liked tweet ever. It has about 5.9 million likes and counting at the time of writing, along with about 2.9 million retweets and comments, including from the celebrities that have worked with Boseman and the people that he has inspired.
https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1299808792322940928
The previous most-liked tweet was one by former U.S. President Barack Obama from August 2017, with about 4.3 million likes. Obama is one of the many people who have posted a tweet in honor of Boseman, who continued filming in between surgeries and chemotherapy.
Chadwick came to the White House to work with kids when he was playing Jackie Robinson. You could tell right away that he was blessed. To be young, gifted, and Black; to use that power to give them heroes to look up to; to do it all while in pain – what a use of his years. https://t.co/KazXV1e7l7
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 29, 2020
Twitter has also reinstated the #BlackPanther emoji, as Boseman’s fans are organizing watch parties on the platform. In 2018, Black Panther was recognized as the most-tweeted about movie ever, before it was eventually toppled by Avengers: Endgame.
Boseman’s legacy
Boseman’s breakthrough role came in the 2013 biopic 42 as baseball legend Jackie Robinson. He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War as Black Panther, then went on to star in the character’s titular film. He also appeared in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and was due to return for Black Panther 2.
