Hours before Descendants 3 aired on the Disney Channel, star Sarah Jeffery posted a poignant tribute to the late Cameron Boyce. The actor, who played Carlos in the Descendants movie, died in early July at age 20. The new film was the first posthumous release for Boyce and began with a dedication to him.
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In Descendants 3, Jeffery’s Princess Audrey turned out to be the villain, but she shared warm memories of working with Boyce on the new film.
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“Today is the day… Im filled with so many emotions,” Jeffery wrote. “Gratitude, love, sadness, grief, happiness… Today we celebrate the most incredible boy I have ever known. Cameron. I love you. Today is hard. But this film is filled with the essence that was you, and that is the most beautiful thing to witness.”
She continued, “How incredibly grateful I am to have called you a friend. Words will never express this loss, but today we reflect on the special memories we were so lucky to create with you. To the cast, to the Boyce’s, to Kenny and our whole family… I love you all deeply. Thank you for this half a decade of pure magic.”
Jeffery included a gallery of photos with Boyce and a video of him having fun getting his make-up done.
Since Boyce’s death from a seizure on July 6, Jeffery has joined her other Descendants co-stars in paying tribute to him. On July 10, she shared a photo of the cast alongside a heartbreaking note.
“Putting pen to paper after something like this is difficult to say the least…I don’t really know what to say. My heart is broken. But I do feel that any experience with Cameron is one worth sharing,” Jeffery wrote. “What I can say is, I will miss him so deeply and my heart is shattered for those who were close to him, for they know how much he loved them and how lucky we all were to experience the rarity that was Cameron. My heart absolutely aches for the Boyce’s and for his closest friends. For my Descendants family. For those he impacted from a distance.”
She later wrote, “I love you forever TCB, thank you for showing me what it means to live life to its absolute fullest. Your endless joy and love and goodness was completely singular and the world is now lesser off…. This does not seem real. I will miss you so much my dear friend.”
At the start of Friday night’s broadcast, Disney dedicated the film to Boyce. “For Cameron, who made every moment count,” the dedication reads.
The Descendants franchise centers on the children of Disney characters, both good and bad. Boyce’s Carles is the son of Cruella de Vil, while Dove Cameron’s Mal is the daughter of Maleficent and Hades. Booboo Stewart plays Jafar’s son Jay and Sofia Carson plays The Evil Queen’s daughter Evie. Jeffery’s Princess Audrey is the daughter of Sleeping Beauty‘s Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip.
Photo credit: Disney Channel
