Lupita Nyong'o Honors Chadwick Boseman Four Years After Tragic Death

The 'Black Panther' actor passed away in 2020 after a private colon cancer battle.

By Anna Rumer

Lupita Nyong'o is honoring Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman four years after his tragic death. The actress, who starred opposite Boseman in the 2018 hit Marvel Studios film, took to Instagram on Wednesday, Aug. 28, to pay tribute to her late friend.

Sharing a black-and-white photo of Boseman alongside a photo of the two laughing together, Nyong'o, 41, wrote, "'Grief never ends. But it changes. It is a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith. It's the price of love.' -unknown." The actress added, "Remembering Chadwick Boseman. Forever."

Boseman starred as Wakanda King T'Challa in Black Panther, while Nyong'o played Nakia, a Wakandan warrior and T'Challa's love interest. Two years after the groundbreaking film was released, Boseman passed away at the age of 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.

Not even Boseman's colleagues knew about his health battle before his death, and following his passing, Nyong'o took to social media to share a message "from a place of hopelessness" she wanted to "honor a man who had great hope."

"I am struggling to think and speak about my friend, Chadwick Boseman, in the past tense. It doesn't make sense. The news of his passing is a punch to my gut every morning," she wrote in September 2020. "I am aware that we are all mortal, but you come across some people in life that possess an immortal energy, that seem like they have existed before, that are exactly where they are supposed to always be – here! ... that seem ageless.... Chadwick was one of those people."

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Praising her friend's "quiet, powerful presence," she continued, "He had no airs about him, but there was a higher frequency that he seemed to operate from. You got the sense that he was fully present and also somehow fully aware of things in the distant future. As a result, I noticed that Chadwick never seemed rushed! He commanded his time with ease."

Boseman was "fueled by love, not fear" in life, Nyong'o assured, and set out to "make sure his life meant something." The A Quiet Place: Day One star gushed, "He cared so deeply about humanity, about Black people, about his people. He activated our pride. By pushing through and working with such high purpose in the films he chose to commit to, Chadwick has made the infinite his home. ... His power lives on and will reverberate for generations to come."

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