Today, the world mourns the loss of one of Hollywood's most admired and successful actors, Chadwick Boseman. He was a part of many critically-acclaimed films, including Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, 42, and more.
As celebrities and fans share fond memories of Boseman, heartfelt messages, prayers, and more, some express disappointment and disgust over past comments that made fun of Chadwick's weight loss as he - unbeknownst to the public - battled with cancer.
Images like the one shown above began circulating the Internet, as fans realized the probable reason that Boseman appeared to have lost so much weight. This image was taken from a video shot by the actor earlier in the year, which he eventually deleted.
Some fans believed he took down that video post because of users' comments on how thin he looked; they believe that he didn't want the video to reveal his sickness to the world. On top of their sadness about his passing, fans were devastated that he was mistreated in any way because of his physical appearance.
Another Twitter user cited the specific language one article used in describing Boseman as "deathly skinny," not realizing that he was facing a fatal disease.
While the writer was likely unaware that Chadwick had cancer, as most of the world only found out yesterday, after his death, it reminded fans of how desensitized and ignorant both the media and public can be to individuals facing personal adversity - especially when it comes to body weight.
Especially offensive now are those 'jokes' that insinuated Boseman was doing drugs. A few Twitter users reminded everyone that people claimed "he was on crack" or "he was on drugs" when looking at pictures of Chadwick Boseman over the past few years.
While fans continued to defend Boseman, others commended his resiliency in shooting movies with this diagnosis. During the making of these movies, Chadwick Boseman was constantly transforming his body and putting it on the line for his craft, in spite of the unique and harrowing challenges he faced.
As more stories come out about Boseman, we send our condolences to his family and friends.
Thank you, Chadwick Boseman, for everything you did for your movies, and your fans. You will not be forgotten.
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