Last night saw Black Panther add one more prestigious accolade to the film’s ever-growing list of honors, nabbing a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. But during his acceptance speech, actor Chadwick Boseman neglected to mention one man that many fans feel should’ve been given his due.
The award was picked up by Boseman along with his co-stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Sterling K. Brown, Andy Serkis and Angela Bassett. In his speech, Boseman was sure to thank “genius” director Ryan Coogler, Disney executives Alan Horn and Bob Iger, producers Victoria Alonso and Nate Moore, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, and co-president Louis D’Esposito. Two names, however, that didn’t make the list were Black Panther’s own co-creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.
The latter’s omission, in particular, hit a sore spot with fans due to Lee’s passing in November last year, and the lack of any mention of Lee in the ceremony’s in memoriam segment didn’t exactly help matters. So while plenty of fans were pleased with the win for Boseman and his co-stars, many felt the need to point out the oversight:
Happy that @theblackpanther won, but @chadwickboseman forgot to thank Stan Lee but I know he didn’t mean to forget about him. Also, that was a great acceptance speech #SAGAwards
— Justin Wulach/William M. Buttlicker (@OtherBeardedOne) January 28, 2019
… and thank you to Stan Lee for creating an amazing character and world in the Marvel universe…. missed the mark there panther. Smh
— Halyna Masiar (@QuestnEvrythn19) January 28, 2019
No mention of Stan Lee why? Just wondering
— GumpJr (@GumpJr7) January 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/MJShumaker2/status/1089731422993010689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1089731422993010689&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2019%2F01%2F28%2Fmarvel-fans-upset-black-panther-cast-didnt-thank-stan-lee-after-sag-awards-win%2F
Great acceptance speech by Chadwick, but I wish he would have also thanked @TheRealStanLee and Jack Kirby, for without them creating the character Black Panther, there wouldn't have been a movie for the cast to shine with their performances.
— Sean Blair (@ElLocoGaijin) January 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/grandsonofsam/status/1089727869008441345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1089727869008441345&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2019%2F01%2F28%2Fmarvel-fans-upset-black-panther-cast-didnt-thank-stan-lee-after-sag-awards-win%2F
https://twitter.com/DevonaD1/status/1089725148314431488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1089725148314431488&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2019%2F01%2F28%2Fmarvel-fans-upset-black-panther-cast-didnt-thank-stan-lee-after-sag-awards-win%2F
Congrats to all, but no mention of the great Stan Lee for creating this character? Disappointing…
— Steph D. (@stefdug04) January 28, 2019
Congrats Black Panther for winning best cast. You thanked a lot of people, but left out Stan Lee.
He was kinda important, don’t you think.#SAGAwards— Kurt Kuczynski (@kurtkuczynski) January 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/thepolariszone/status/1089725399247081472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1089725399247081472&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2019%2F01%2F28%2Fmarvel-fans-upset-black-panther-cast-didnt-thank-stan-lee-after-sag-awards-win%2F
Chadwick forgot to thank Stan Lee
— AQUA (@KingAqua05) January 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/OnlyTheSnarky/status/1089721271560990720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1089721271560990720&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fmarvel%2F2019%2F01%2F28%2Fmarvel-fans-upset-black-panther-cast-didnt-thank-stan-lee-after-sag-awards-win%2F
In the wake of Lee’s passing last year, several cast member of Black Panther publicly paid tribute to the late comic book creator. Boseman, for instance, chose to send Lee to the other side with a round of djembe drumming in a video he shared on Twitter, while Michael B. Jordan told Entertainment Tonight that the writer “literally changed the face of entertainment in so many different ways.”
Evidently, some fans weren’t too pleased that the stars didn’t have anything to say about Lee during their moment of glory, but as the awards continue to role in for Black Panther, the team should have plenty more opportunities to honor the man who first helped introduce T’Challa to the pages of Marvel Comics.
