The last tweet from late actor Chadwick Boseman‘s Twitter account has become the most-liked tweet ever on the social media platform.
Twitter itself confirmed the tweet was its most-liked, clocking in at 7.4 million likes (and still growing) as of Monday morning.
The tweet, presumably shared by people close to Boseman, featured a black and white image of the actor with a statement confirming he had died of colon cancer on Friday. He was 43 years old.
“It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman,” reads the tweet.
“Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.
“It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.
“He died in his home, with his wife and family by his side.
“The family thanks you for your love and prayers, and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Boseman was previously known for playing baseball legend Jackie Robinson and music pioneer James Brown in the biographical films 42 and Get On Up, respectively, before being cast as the Black Panther — the first African-American superhero to get his own Marvel film.
The 2018 film became one of Marvel’s biggest successes, grossing over US$1.3 billion, and is the highest-grossing film in the MCU after the four Avengers instalments. The latter two of those films also featured Boseman.
Boseman was slated to appear in a sequel to Black Panther, which is still in development. He was recently seen in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods on Netflix.
Twitter reinstated the Black Panther hashtag emoji in the wake of Boseman’s death.
“Fans are also working to organize Black Panther Twitter watch parties using #BlackPanther and #WakandaForever, so Twitter has turned the original #BlackPanther emoji back on so fans can watch and talk about his legacy together,” said the social media company.
The previous record-holder was former U.S. President Barack Obama, whose tweet about learned racism had 4.3 million likes.
— With files from Global News’ Sean Boynton
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