Surprise News About Superhero Actor Chadwick Boseman Becomes Most-Liked Tweet Ever

Yahoo News reports: On Friday, Chadwick Boseman's family posted a final tweet on his Twitter account, announcing that he had died after a four-year battle with colon cancer. Twitter confirmed on Saturday afternoon that this tweet from Boseman's account is now the most-liked tweet on Twitter of all time...
"The 43-year-old's death shocked many in Hollywood who were unaware he had spent the last four years fighting colon cancer," notes the Los Angeles Times. But the tweet confirmed that the nine movies he'd filmed over the last four years — including four Marvel movies — "all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy."

That tweet has now risen to over 7.1 million likes — 65% more than the previous record-holder. Variety reports: Previously, the most-liked tweet on Twitter was from former President Barack Obama, who shared the Nelson Mandela quote, "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion." The tweet was posted on Aug. 12, 2017, the same day as the deadly Charlottesville, Va., car attack at a protest against white supremacists. Obama's former record-holding tweet has 4.3 million likes and 1.6 million retweets.

After Boseman's death, Obama was one of the countless people to post a tribute to the actor, who played Jackie Robinson in the film 42. "Chadwick came to the White House to work with kids when he was playing Jackie Robinson," the former president wrote. "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."
CNET reports: 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 video circulating widely Saturday in which Boseman speaks of Ian and Taylor, two children with terminal cancer he'd been in touch with during filming for Black Panther. The kids' parents, Boseman said in the video, relayed that Ian and Taylor were trying to hold on until the 2018 Marvel superhero film came out. We now know Boseman was waging his own cancer fight as he spoke of the children, making the footage all the more poignant.
Twitter has now restored its #BlackPanther emoji for fans organizing watch parties of the 2018 movie, reports Variety, and while some remembered his commencement address at Howard or his impact on other actors, others are sharing stories closer to home: "I keep thinking about my 3-year-old in his Black Panther costume," the writer Clint Smith tweeted. "How he wore it almost every day when he got it, refused to take it off. The way he walked around saying. 'I'm the Black Panther.' How happy it made him. What Chadwick gave us was immeasurable. What an enormous loss."

Re:He died of butt cancer

[jmccue]

No, do a search on FAP, it tends to go undiagnosed due to how young a person can get colon cancer. There are many variations of it.

Re:

[Joce640k]

Yep. I had half my colon out last month and I'm a lot younger than this guy was

Re:He died of butt cancer

[MrDoh!]

Got mine found purely by my wife bugging me to get it done after her dad died. I felt fine, no pain/blood/any symptoms, thought it was all a waste of time at my age too. Woke up to the doc doing that 'concerned frown' look they do so well. After a lot of docs wanting samples of what they took out, found out the type I had (ileocecal valve) doesn't get found too often at that stage, well, at least from anyone that survives, so there were a LOT of docs wanting me to let them play with it. It's so high up, without being in the small intestines, that any blood loss from from it would get reabsorbed in the large sphincter. So many docs asked me why I got a colonoscopy at that age, with no symptoms, and all of them then said "your wife saved your life". Get your butt's checked, peeps.

Huge loss for movies, and humanity

[SuperKendall]

I'm not that into Marvel movies, but have watched most of them (eventually) and Chadwick Boseman was one my favorite actors they had in the franchise, I feel very sad for people more into Marvel than myself he'll not be present to carry that on.

Beyond that though he just sounded like a great human being, and someone that well centered who also has a massive publicity platform can do a huge amount of good in the world. So from that sense, it's a loss for us all far beyond the Marvel franchise...

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[sycodon]

He seemed like a cool dude and I would have liked to see him in many more movies.

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[Ocker3]

Indeed. Apparently it was his idea for Killmonger to say "don't bury me in Wakanda", his idea was that he was buried somewhere else, not sure whose idea it was that Killmonger be buried at the infamous last door that a slave would walk through before going onto a slave ship, but that was one incredibly powerful piece of the storyline. He wasn't just an awesome actor, he clearly intentionally focused on really epic stories with important points to be made. The level of skill and delivery that he brought to t

I just don't get social media

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

So the best loved tweet from the guy's account was written by his family to announce his death. I'm sorry but what is that record to be cheerful about? It's really creepy.

Re:I just don't get social media

[Fippy Darkpaw]

What's wrong with a Dukes of Hazzard reference? He isn't meaning no harm.

Re:I just don't get social media

[nitehawk214]

He's been in trouble with the mods since the day he was born.

Re:I just don't get social media

[JaredOfEuropa]

It's not that hard. I bet most people had no idea that he was fighting cancer; that last tweet informed those people, and at the same time gave them a place to express their shock and sympathy in a small way, by adding a like. It's a bit like seeing a mound of flowers at a memorial or the scene of some tragedy: it's not a happy occasion, but at the same time good to see that so many people cared.

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[MobileTatsu-NJG]

So the best loved tweet from the guy's account was written by his family to announce his death. I'm sorry but what is that record to be cheerful about?

Social media is not what's failing you, here.

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[MobileTatsu-NJG]

...ts no more of a special thing than...

Your ignorance on this topic is not a failing of social media.

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[gbjbaanb]

lol, you're the one butt-hurt here. The anon is right that social media is a real shitty thing, this latest "OMG" moment from it is not the call to prayer you think it is.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[Gavrielkay]

I didn't think Twitter offered a "I'm really sad to read this because he was a talented person who died too young" button. I think "like" was the only way people had to interact with the tweet to show they'd read it and been affected by its message.

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[backslashdot]

They should give the option of not having a Like button and showing a Condolences button instead when you post something.

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[Boronx]

You must be a kid. There's nothing creepy about dying.

Re:I just don't get social media

[backslashdot]

Yeah clicking like is like expressing that you're glad about it. Twitter really needs to give people posting death notices or tragic news of some kind the option of having a condolences Button instead of Like.

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[drinkypoo]

I take/mean it as "I'm glad you posted this".

If I have other feelings about it, I can write my own tweet/etc.

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[thegarbz]

Yeah clicking like is like expressing that you're glad about it.

Indeed. I'm glad the family shared this tragic news and information on a fight with cancer.

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[Anonymous Coward]

"Like" on social media means a vote for visibility not that the subject matter itself is enjoyable

He was visiting terminal kids too

[HalAtWork]

From one interview:

"You came off of one black panther project, did "Marshall" and then made another black panther movie. Did you bulk up, slim down, and then bulk up again?

[Nods his head, looking exhausted] Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You've been through the ringer.

Oh, you don't even know [laughs]. You have no idea. One day I'll live to tell the story."

All the while he was training and filming, he was trying to inspire others [youtu.be] who needed it most.

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[Ocker3]

Clearly the illness focused him like nothing else, and look at what he was able to do!

Re:

[Rockoon]

Yep. Gotta be creative to juice in sports, but in hollywood you dont even have to hide it.

You Were the Best

[schwit1]

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/... [disquscdn.com]

"Surprise News"

[The_mad_linguist]

"Surprise news" is an... interesting way to put it.

an actually helpful comment

[slashmydots]

In the last few decades the average age of colon cancer patients has gone far down, indicating it's definitely an unknown ingested or otherwise exposed carcinogen that's known and being suppressed or yet unknown. The only we can do about it is get 8 hours of sleep every day and drink more water. That's about it.

Re:

[slashmydots]

Oh and exercise and eat more dietary fiber, obviously. It limits exposure. Same with water intake flushing glands and organs faster. The sleep makes your immune system work properly so it has a higher chance of killing cancer cells.

Dedicated

[Dan East]

He was dedicated to his craft until the very end. Reminds me of Patrick Swayze, who continued working through the pain and treatments until it was a physical impossibility.