Chadwick Boseman was among the many prolific actors in the industry. He garnered love and fame from his stellar performance as King T’Challa in Black Panther.
His death came as an intense shock for his fans, as did the reveal that he secretly battled cancer during his time filming for the hit movie — but no one took it harder than his wife.
Now, with only a couple of weeks remaining until the sequel releases, Boseman’s widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, breaks her silence for the first time since his passing.
In an exclusive interview with Whoopi Goldberg in a segment that aired on Good Morning America, Simone took an opportunity to honor her late husband and look back on the challenges he tackled during his fight with colon cancer.
“I met this person who is this wonderful man and he then ended up being a global super star, and really after Black Panther came out, it did kind of happen overnight,” she told Goldberg. “I can’t believe that I was so lucky. I can’t believe that I got to love this person. And I also got them to love me, too.”
Black Panther premiered in 2018 and became a huge success, earning more than $1.3 billion worldwide and taking home three Oscars.
During that time, Chadwick decided to keep his fight against colon cancer out of the spotlight. Simone explained, “It was COVID when things were really starting to spiral and that meant that everybody was in their house and there was no pressure for anybody to go outside. It seemed like, ‘Is this a crazy coincidence that we get to actually be inside, we get to be here with family together?’ And everybody in the world is also experiencing this togetherness in the midst of this awful scary unpredictable time. … Our circle was basically a dot.”
Simone reflected on her grieving process, saying, “living without him has been the most challenging two years I’ve ever had in my life.”
She also got candid about the cycles of grief she’s moved through since his death. “Some days I’m doing worse than I’m really willing to acknowledge and other days I’m doing better than I feel comfortable admitting,” she said. “You know, the grief really moves in.”
Chadwicks legacy is carried out not only through his many roles but through the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at his alma mater Howard University and the school’s scholarship program. As Simone stated, “Taking this mantle and we are carrying it to as many voices as we can.”
More of Simone’s interview will air during 20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda on Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET and will stream the next day on Hulu.
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