How Angela Bassett Paid Tribute To Chadwick Boseman At The Golden Globes

Angela Bassett paid tribute to Chadwick Boseman at the Golden Globe Awards while speaking to Guliana Rancic on the red carpet before the 2021 ceremony. The actress told Rancic about her Black Panther co-star, nominated for a Golden Globe Award posthumously.

Bassett said, "I received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater Howard University. And he told me that evening of the premiere, as I went to embrace him, hug him, you know on my way out, that he was the escort for me that weekend there," Bassett recalled. "And it was just amazing 'cause we had worked for months sitting next to each other in the makeup trailer and never said anything about it... he's just an incredible human being; his spirit still lives on."

Bassett wasn't the only one who remembered Boseman, who died in August 2020 of colon cancer. Boseman's wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, gave her husband a heartbreaking tribute at the Gotham Awards in January 2021. When Boseman won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, she tearfully accepted the award on his behalf. 

Keep reading to learn more about Bassett's special relationship with Boseman.

Angela Bassett's tribute to Chadwick Boseman at the Golden Globe Awards was not the first time she paid tribute to the Black Panther star. In August 2020, Bassett posted a moving message about her on-screen son to her Instagram account.

"It was meant to be for Chadwick and me to be connected, for us to be family," Bassett wrote. "But what many don't know is our story began long before his historic turn as Black Panther." She then recalled the same anecdote that she told Giuliana Rancic on the red carpet. "During the premiere party for Black Panther, Chadwick reminded me of something. He whispered that when I received my honorary degree from Howard University, his alma mater, he was the student assigned to escort me that day. And here we were, years later as friends and colleagues, enjoying the most glorious night ever! We'd spent weeks prepping, working, sitting next to each other every morning in makeup chairs, preparing for the day together as mother and son." 

"I am honored that we enjoyed that full circle experience," Bassett continued. "This young man's dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal. So I pay tribute to a beautiful spirit, a consummate artist, a soulful brother...' thou aren't not dead but flown afar...'" She closed out her tribute, "All you possessed, Chadwick, you freely gave. Rest now, sweet prince."