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Kamala Harris, the Obamas, Hollywood stars react to Chadwick Boseman’s death: ‘This is a crushing blow’

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The world was stunned and grief-stricken Friday night when Chadwick Boseman’s family confirmed that the “Black Panther” star died after a four-year battle with colon cancer. Boseman, 43, had never publicly revealed his diagnosis.

The shock of the tragic news amplified the devastated reaction, as thousands upon thousands of fans, as well as Hollywood stars, mourned the beloved actor on social media. Boseman rose through the entertainment industry ranks in the past decade playing such legendary Black figures as Jackie Robinson in “42,” James Brown in “Get on Up” and Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall.” In 2018, his title role as Wakandan King T’Challa in Marvel’s “Black Panther” launched him to superstardom, as the film grossed more than a billion dollars and shattered the myth that international audiences are not interested in movies with predominantly Black casts.

Boseman’s last tweet before his death was a photo with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala D. Harris, as he wrote: “YES @KamalaHarris! #WhenWeAllVote #Vote2020.” Boseman and Harris were both Howard University graduates, and Harris tweeted that she was “heartbroken.”

“My friend and fellow Bison Chadwick Boseman was brilliant, kind, learned, and humble,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “He left too early but his life made a difference. Sending my sincere condolences to his family.”

Chadwick Boseman embodied the Black heroes of our past and gave us one for the future

Former president Barack Obama tweeted a picture and noted that when Boseman was playing Jackie Robinson, he stopped by the White House to work with children (many tributes have noted that many children idolized Boseman). “You could tell right away that he was blessed. To be young, gifted, and Black; to use that power to give them heroes to look up to; to do it all while in pain — what a use of his years,” Obama wrote.

Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton also posted tributes:

Boseman’s collaborators in the Marvel Cinematic Universe also grieved the loss of their friend and co-star. Boseman’s family said in a statement that “it was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in ‘Black Panther.’ ” The closeness between the “Black Panther” cast was evident; one viral video has already been making the rounds, which shows Boseman’s castmates comforting him as he breaks down during an interview as he talked about corresponding with two young fans who had terminal cancer.

Angela Bassett, who played Boseman’s mother in the film, told Rolling Stone that when Boseman was a student at Howard, he was assigned as her student escort when she received an honorary degree from the university. She called their time together on “Black Panther” a “full circle experience.”

“This young man’s dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal,” Bassett said in a statement. “So I pay tribute to a beautiful spirit, a consummate artist, a soulful brother…’thou aren’t not dead but flown afar…’ All you possessed, Chadwick, you freely gave. Rest now, sweet prince. #WakandaForever.”

More people from the MCU grieved on social media. Tom Holland, who plays Spider-Man, spotlighted Boseman’s visiting children in the hospital and called him “a role model not only to me on set, but to millions of others around the world.”

Many more famous figures mourned and shared their memories: