Chadwick Boseman, 42, may forever be the Black Panther — but he’s not looking so much like his breakout character T’Challa these days. The actor took to Instagram for a live video session on Wednesday, April 16, and revealed his noticeably thinner frame. In the video, the South Carolina native was casual at home in a gray sweater, layered necklaces and a purple baseball cap, however, fans were quick to comment about his gaunt face.
“Did Chadwick Boseman lose weight for a role??? He looks sick,” fan @kebo_slice tweeted, while others echoed the sentiment. “Please tell me Chadwick Boseman lost weight for a movie because he does NOT look well at all,” @bruneaux_mahs shared hours after his stream. Others were quick to defend the Marvel stars’ appearance, noting that he’s naturally thin and had beefed up for the Black Panther role. “This man been this skinny, y’all jus don’t pay attention, like months ago at the all star break he was already skinny like if y’all really cared for him y’all would’ve been said sum months ago but it’s probably not that serious Chadwick Boseman will be okay,” @dumbdotcomm added.
In the stream, Chadwick was celebrating Jackie Robinson Day with a video announcement about an initiative supporting the African American community, which has been severely affected by COVID-19. “For the last couple weeks, we’ve found that the African American community has been hit the hardest [by COVID-19.]..part of that is because we’re the front line workers. We’re the ones still going to work, we’re the ones still driving the buses, in the hospitals — in the medical field…we’re going to battle every day,” the said in one video.
“We need isolation gowns at these hospitals…throughout this process, the federal government is not making sure that these companies provide equipment and tests…and make sure prices don’t get driven up for states that need it the most,” he continued.
@chadwickboseman I am hearing stories of desperation from people all over the country, and we know our communities are suffering the most and urgently need help. Celebrating #JackieRobinsonDay with the launch of Thomas Tull’s #Operation42, a donation of 4.2 million dollars in pic.twitter.com/Cp4EE5pc0d
— The Nicole Harris Podcast 🧚🏾♀️ (@NicoleHarrisPod) April 16, 2020
“We can’t allow people to die,” he poignantly noted. “This time — this pandemic — I can’t think of a better way to remember my hero, the hero of many of you out there — to commemorate everything that he was about to announce this partnership,” he continued, referencing the launch of the Operation 42 initiative which donated $4.2 million to hospitals in need.