Fact Check: Yes, Chadwick Boseman's Last Tweet Endorsed Harris as VP Candidate
Claim:
Actor Chadwick Boseman's final tweet before he died in 2020 expressed support for then-U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's vice-presidential nominee.
Rating:
In the wake of U.S. President Joe Biden's July 2024 announcement that he was abandoning his campaign for reelection, making way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party's nominee, a screenshot of what was described as the "last tweet" by the late Marvel Studios star Chadwick Boseman resurfaced on social media.
The screenshot was timely because it also contained what it appeared to be a political endorsement of Harris by Boseman, who died in 2020.
An Aug. 24, 2024, post on X, for example, actually criticized the resurfacing of the tweet, stating, "I find it extremely exploitative and very sick for y'all to pull up this man's last tweet, years after he died, for your *current* politics." The post quickly gained attention, amassing over 172,000 views as of this writing.
I find it extremely exploitative and very sick for y'all to pull up this man's last tweet, years after he died, for your *current* politics. pic.twitter.com/bmEDYbFbxv
— Buttigieg Buttijury Butticutioner (@ValarMorDollars) August 24, 2024
The tweet was a repost from another account, which originally shared the photo from Boseman's X account on Aug. 22. That post received 5.1 million views, as of this writing, and declared that the photo with Harris was "His last tweet."
The claim is true. Boseman's final tweet on Aug. 11, 2020, did indeed express support for Harris. The tweet coincided with the announcement of Harris as Biden's vice-presidential pick in the race for the 2020 presidency. It featured a photo of him and Harris embracing, along with a caption that read, "YES @KamalaHarris! ???????????? #WhenWeAllVote #Vote2020."
(@chadwickboseman/X)
Boseman's X account is now "run by #TeamCB," as indicated in the bio at the top of the page, which also links to the Chadwick Boseman Foundation for the Arts. Although the account has been inactive since November 2023, the foundation, launched in 2022, aims to support young Black people in creative fields in honor of Boseman. Snopes reached out to the foundation for more information about its advocacy and management of Boseman's social media, and will update this report if we receive a response.
The photo Boseman posted with Harris was reportedly taken at a 2018 fundraiser in Los Angeles for the Families Belong Together campaign, which seeks to prevent the forced separation of migrant families entering the U.S. In June 2018, Boseman posted several photos to X from that event, including a similar picture with Harris. In July 2018, Harris also shared the photo on her Facebook account.
As a prominent figure, Boseman's original 2020 tweet received widespread attention, with 330,000 likes and over 3,000 comments, as of this writing. He died of colon cancer on Aug. 28, 2020, 17 days after that final tweet. According to reports, he was diagnosed with the disease in 2016, but chose to keep his illness private, undergoing treatment away from the public eye. His death at the age of 43 shocked the world, leading fans to revisit his social media presence in remembrance.
On the day of Boseman's death announcement via his X account, Harris expressed her grief on X, writing, "Heartbroken. My friend and fellow Bison Chadwick Boseman was brilliant, kind, learned, and humble. He left too early but his life made a difference. Sending my sincere condolences to his family."
(@KamalaHarris/X)
Both Boseman and Harris were alumni of Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C. Harris graduated in 1986 and Boseman in 2000. In the days following Boseman's death, Harris shared with People magazine that they had met through friends, telling the outlet:
"Chadwick inspired people to see something in themselves, to see something in each other. Chadwick had the ability to see what can be unburdened by what has been. In that way, his legacy is strong and we will be talking about and thinking about Chadwick for generations to come."
The claim that Boseman's final tweet was in support of Harris is true. It was posted in August 2020, the same day Harris was announced as the Democratic Party's vice-presidential pick and just days before Boseman's death from colon cancer.
Snopes has previously fact-checked the false internet rumors that Boseman's death was the result of poisoning, and the cast of "Black Panther" was placed on an FBI watch list.
Sources:
Alumni | Howard University College of Arts and Sciences. https://coas.howard.edu/information/alumni. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
"'Black Panther' Star Chadwick Boseman's Final Post On X/Twitter Was In Support Of Kamala Harris; 'The Simpsons' Writer 'Proud' Of 'Prediction' About VP." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/news/ni64718125/. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.
"'Black Panther' Star Chadwick Boseman's Final Tweet Was in Support of Kamala Harris." EW.Com, https://ew.com/black-panther-chadwick-boseman-final-tweet-kamala-harris-8681546. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
Burns, Alexander. "Joe Biden's Vice-Presidential Pick: Kamala Harris." The New York Times, 11 Aug. 2020. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/article/biden-vice-president-2020.html.
"Chadwick Boseman and the Changing Landscape of Who Gets Colon Cancer." PBS News, 4 Sept. 2020, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/chadwick-boseman-and-the-changing-landscape-of-who-gets-colon-cancer.
Chadwick Boseman: Black Panther Star Dies of Cancer Aged 43. 29 Aug. 2020. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53955912.
"Chadwick Boseman's Final Tweet from 2020 Endorsing Kamala Harris Resurfaces: 'Message Heard, Brother.'" Hindustan Times, 23 July 2024, https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/hollywood/chadwick-boseman-final-tweet-2020-endorsing-kamala-harris-resurfaces-us-presidential-race-101721697441135.html.
"Chadwick Boseman's Private and Courageous Cancer Battle." Biography, 18 Nov. 2020, https://www.biography.com/actors/chadwick-boseman-colon-cancer-battle.
"Chris Evans and Zo? Kravitz Reveal Their 'First Times' for a Good Cause — to Get People to Vote!" Peoplemag, https://people.com/movies/chris-evans-zoe-kravitz-reveal-their-first-times-encourage-people-to-vote/. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
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"Fact Check: Chadwick Boseman Died of Colon Cancer." Reuters, 1 Sept. 2020. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/world/fact-checkchadwick-boseman-died-of-colon-cancer-idUSKBN25S58G/.
"Families Belong Together." National Domestic Workers Alliance, https://www.domesticworkers.org/programs-and-campaigns/developing-policy-solutions/families-belong-together/. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.
France, Lisa Respers. "Chadwick Boseman's Last Tweet before He Died Was in Support of Kamala Harris." CNN, 22 July 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/22/entertainment/chadwick-boseman-final-tweet-kamala-harris/index.html.
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Jr, Mike Fleming. "ABC Remembers 'Black Panther' Star Chadwick Boseman With 'A Tribute For A King.'" Deadline, 31 Aug. 2020, https://deadline.com/2020/08/chadwick-boseman-abc-special-robert-downey-jr-kamala-harris-1203027272/.
"Kamala Harris Remembers Chadwick Boseman: 'A Listener, Humble but He Walked with Such Magnificence.'" Peoplemag, https://people.com/politics/kamala-harris-remembers-chadwick-boseman-a-listener-humble/. Accessed 27 Aug. 2024.
"Kamala Harris Remembers 'Old Soul' Chadwick Boseman and Discusses His Last Tweet Celebrating Her." Peoplemag, https://people.com/politics/kamala-harris-pays-tribute-to-chadwick-boseman/. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
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Viser , Matt, and Sean Sullivan. "Sen. Kamala D. Harris Named as Joe Biden's Running Mate." The Washington Post , 11 Aug. 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kamala-harris-joe-biden-vp-pick/2020/08/11/d7a51930-d1b7-11ea-8c55-61e7fa5e82ab_story.html.
Writer, Jeffery Martin. "Chadwick Boseman's Last Tweet Was of a Picture of Him With Kamala Harris." Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2020, https://www.newsweek.com/chadwick-bosemans-last-tweet-was-picture-him-kamala-harris-1528508.
You Think You Can't Change the World? You Can. YOUTH OF AMERICA, WE NEED YOU. This Is Your Chance. Get out There and #VOTE. Our Lives Depend on It.... | By Chadwick BosemanFacebook. www.facebook.com, https://www.facebook.com/chadwickboseman/videos/you-think-you-cant-change-the-world-you-can-youth-of-america-we-need-you-this-is/490295761467977/. Accessed 26 Aug. 2024.
