Chadwick Boseman’s widow shares 2021 Oscars speech she would have given if ‘Black Panther’ star won

Chadwick Boseman’s wife, Simone Ledward Boseman, revealed the speech she would have given in her late husband’s honor if he had won at the 2021 Academy Awards.

“I had written a whole speech,” Simone, 35, told the Hollywood Reporter on Friday. “I wonder if I have it in my Notes [app].”

After finding the draft in her phone, Simone read what she had written to the outlet.

“It says: ‘I will never stop thanking God for you. Thank you to the most high God. Thank you, Carolyn and Leroy Boseman [Chadwick’s parents], and your mothers and your mothers’ mothers,’” she began. “‘What purity. What honesty. What pain. What a role. What work. What beautiful, intricate humanity. What courage, bravery, fearlessness, honesty, commitment, humanity, strength.’”

Chadwick was posthumously nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” just months after his tragic death.  He ended up losing to Anthony Hopkins for “The Father.”

“A spirit that refused to surrender to despair,” Simone continued about her husband, who died in 2020 at age 43 after a private battle with colon cancer. “What an actor. What an artist. What a cast. What a team. What a vision. Glory be to the most high God. Long live the King.’”

Despite losing the Oscar, Simone felt honored that her husband was even nominated.

“But to be nominated for best actor is still an incredible accomplishment and is still recognition of his work,” she shared. “I don’t think that it was the intention of the producers for it to be uncomfortable … Looking back, it would have been better if Best Picture was last.”

“It would’ve been a nice reset before the end of the night to have another celebratory moment, for someone that was hopefully able to walk up onstage and accept the award and give a speech and all of that.”

Chadwick ended up winning posthumous trophies at the 2021 Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.

During her acceptance speech at that year’s Globes, Simone said the “Black Panther” star “made a practice of telling the truth.”

“He is the most honest person I’ve ever met because he didn’t just stop at speaking the truth,” she detailed. “He actively searched for it — in himself, in those around him and in the moment. The truth can be a very easy thing for the self to avoid, but if one does not live in truth, then it’s impossible to live in line with a divine purpose for your life. And so, it became how he lived his life, day in, day out, imperfect but determined.”

Simone has continued to honor her late spouse throughout the years, most recently attending Chadwick’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2025.