Chadwick Boseman's widow Simone gives emotional tribute at Gotham Awards

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January 12, 2021

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(CNN)Simone Ledward Boseman tearfully paid tribute to her late husband Chadwick Boseman Monday night during the 30th annual IFP Gotham Awards.

She accepted the Actor Tribute award for the actor, who died in August at the age of 43 after a private battle with colon cancer, saying, “As an artist, an actor, and a person, Chad 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, he actively searched for it. In himself, in those around him and in the moment,” Ledward Boseman said. “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.” Photos: Remembering Chadwick Boseman Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanActor Chadwick Boseman poses for a portrait in 2013.Hide Caption 1 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman’s breakout role came in 2013, when he played baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the film “42.”Hide Caption 2 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman embraces Jackie Robinson’s widow, Rachel, after the Los Angeles premiere of “42.”Hide Caption 3 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman greets film director Spike Lee at an NBA game in New York in 2013.Hide Caption 4 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman is interviewed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” soon after “42” hit theaters.Hide Caption 5 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman laughs with baseball star Matt Kemp after throwing out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 2013.Hide Caption 6 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman plays iconic singer James Brown in the 2014 biopic “Get on Up.”Hide Caption 7 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanIn 2017’s “Marshall,” Boseman portrayed Thurgood Marshall, the first African American justice on the US Supreme Court.Hide Caption 8 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman poses with comic book author Stan Lee, who co-created many of the Marvel superheroes that have come to life on the big screen.Hide Caption 9 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman starred in a number of Marvel films as Black Panther, king of the fictional nation of Wakanda. The character got its own film in 2018.Hide Caption 10 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanThe role of Black Panther/King T’Challa was the “honor of (Boseman’s) career,” said a statement from his publicist, Nicki Fioravante.Hide Caption 11 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman attends the European premiere of “Black Panther” in London.Hide Caption 12 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanWhile competing in the 2018 NBA Dunk Contest, Victor Oladipo wears a Black Panther mask and does the “Wakanda Forever” salute with Boseman, who was sitting courtside.Hide Caption 13 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman surprises a fan on “The Tonight Show” in 2018.Hide Caption 14 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman, as Black Panther, does the “Wakanda Forever” salute in “Avengers: Infinity War.”Hide Caption 15 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman is awarded an honorary degree as he gives a graduation speech at Howard University in Washington, DC. Boseman got his bachelor’s degree from Howard in 2000.Hide Caption 16 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman walks through the crowd after receiving an award at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in 2018.Hide Caption 17 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman is joined on stage at the Golden Globes with three of his “Black Panther” co-stars: from left, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan.Hide Caption 18 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanFrom left, Jordan, Boseman and Angela Bassett attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2019. The “Black Panther” cast won the award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.Hide Caption 19 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman poses with Lady Gaga backstage after she had just won an Oscar in 2019.Hide Caption 20 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman and his wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, attend the NBA All-Star Game in February 2020.Hide Caption 21 of 22 Photos: Remembering Chadwick BosemanBoseman, center, plays a Vietnam War soldier in “Da 5 Bloods,” a Spike Lee film released in June 2020.Hide Caption 22 of 22Boseman received the award for his role in the Netflix film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”His wife paid homage to his ability to take on the roles of real life people, including baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the film “42” and James Brown in “Get On Up.”Read More”He was blessed to live many lives within his concentrated one,” she said. “He developed his understanding of what it meant to be the one, the none and the all. ‘A vessel to be poured into and out of,’ he’d said.”Ledward Boseman ended her acceptance speech in tears.”Chad, thank you. I love you. I am so proud of you. Keep shining your light on us,” she said. The couple reportedly became engaged in 2019 and married not long before his death.