Lupita Nyong'o Shared a Heartbreaking Tribute to Chadwick Boseman

Lupita Nyong’o Shared a Heartbreaking Tribute to Chadwick Boseman

"I write these words from a place of hopelessness, to honor a man who had great hope."

Lupita Nyong'o has spoken out publicly for the first time about Chadwick Boseman's death, in a moving post shared on Instagram.

The actress honored her friend and Black Panther co-star with a photo of the two of them, and a message about the man who she said "made the most of his time, and somehow also managed to take his time."

"I write these words from a place of hopelessness, to honor a man who had great hope," she wrote. "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 continued, "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."

Nyong'o reflected on their time filming Black Panther together, writing, "I remember being struck by his quiet, powerful presence. 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 passed away over a week ago at the age of 43, following a four-year battle with colon cancer. A statement shared to his social media pages noted that "it was the honor of his life to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther."

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Entertainment Weekly reports that Nyong'o joined Boseman's widow Taylor Simone Ledward as well as Black Panther costars Michael B. Jordan, and Winston Duke this past weekend for a private memorial in Malibu to honor the late actor.

"When I was around Chadwick, I wanted to be better, less petty, more purposeful," Nyong'o wrote in her tribute. "He was fueled by love, not fear. We are all charged by his work as a result, by his presence in our lives."