Last night’s Golden Globe Awards was an interesting watch. Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler conducted a largely virtual ceremony replete with tech mishaps from nominees dialling in from around the world. On top of that, there was the simmering controversy that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association – the Golden Globes governing body – has no black members and is dealing with a number of allegations of financial impropriety. Despite that, though, the night contained one truly touching moment.
The late Chadwick Boseman, who unexpectedly died in August from colon cancer, picked up the trophy for Best Actor in a Drama. He won for his final onscreen role in Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which has been receiving a lot of awards attention since its release in November.
Accepting the honor was Boseman’s wife Taylor Simone Ledward, who said that her husband would have wanted her to “say something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that little voice inside all of us that tells you you can, that tells you to keep going.” This was a truly worthy win and could be a hint that the success will be repeated at the 2021 Academy Awards.
Fans celebrated the moment on social media, too, and here’s a selection of how it’s going down:
chadwick boseman won a golden globe 🥺🥺 goodness i miss him so much !!
— river | SEEING GRACIE & SABRINA (@sapphicswft) March 1, 2021
i just watched taylor simone ledward, wife of chadwick boseman, give a speech accepting a golden globe award for best actor on his behalf, & now i’m left with a face wet from tears, i couldn’t help but cry. it still feels so unreal & equally heartbreaking that he’s really gone.
— jodi. (@sxtrovert) March 1, 2021
Anyway, Chadwick Boseman deserves that Golden Globe award and I am so glad he got it
😌❤️— ash 🎭 (@lostinamericaa) March 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/angelKTMH/status/1366268077273350147?s=20
I don’t know how she did it: so eloquent, so dignified, so poignant: Chadwick Boseman’s widow accepting his Golden Globe.
— Maria Radford (@3angel24) March 1, 2021
People talking about how Chadwick Boseman didn't deserve to win that Golden Globe because he's dead or wouldn't have won if he hadn't died really need to shut up and watch Ma Rainey's Black Bottom because he's amazing and did all that being very sick
— Eva (@itsyagirlevaa) March 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/Matt_OD_/status/1366245080793821186?s=20
Much deserved posthumous Golden Globe award for Chadwick Boseman. Tremendous screen presence and authenticity in his roles. A REAL TALENT taken away way too soon!
— MIGUEL (@FredDouglasssss) March 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/amattyg/status/1366246923867361281?s=20
just saw chadwick boseman's wife's acceptance speech for his golden globe, god i'm literally in tears that shit hurts he was so damn talented + he deserved it so much
— b | semi ia (@lovingjmin) March 1, 2021
This golden globe is so deserved. So so much. #GoldenGlobes2021 @chadwickboseman pic.twitter.com/Bsr3Z4j887
— Papi Chùlo (@TheAmazingCStew) March 1, 2021
While Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom will be Boseman’s last onscreen appearance in person, he still has one more performance as T’Challa coming. Kevin Feige has confirmed that he completed work on several episodes of Disney+ MCU animated show What If…?, with Boseman set to play the role in an outing that imagines what would have happened if T’Challa had become the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill.
“These are all sorts of stories we couldn’t explore through live action,” said Feige. “Chadwick Boseman came in about four times and recorded numerous episodes. In hindsight, it’s very moving.”
What If…? is expected to air in mid-2021 and it’s fitting that Chadwick Boseman‘s final turn will be in the part he’s most closely identified with. In the meantime, let’s hope this Golden Globes triumph turns into a winning streak, as he was truly amazing in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.