For Lupita Nyong’o, coping with Chadwick Boseman’s death in 2020 remains an ongoing process — one she’s not afraid to face.
The Oscar winner shed tears after losing her “Black Panther” co-star during a Sunday Q&A at the BFI London Film Festival. The conversation, about Nyong’o’s career, included excerpts from “The Wild Robot” the star’s most memorable projects, including the 2018 Marvel blockbuster. “I have to admit, I haven’t seen the movie since Chadwick died, so I’m having a moment,” Nyong’o told moderator Grace Barber-Plentie, according to the video shared by People.
Nyong’o, after taking time to collect his thoughts, began to explain his feelings. “Grief is just love…no place to put it,” she said, wiping away tears. Barber-Plentie suggested moving on to the next clip, but Nyong’o reassured the moderator that she would like to stay on topic.
“I don’t run from tears or heartbreak, you know? You live with it,” she continued, according to another video tweeted by the Hollywood Reporter. “The experience will never be separated from the love that was formed.”
Bosman died on August 28, 2020, after a battle with colon cancer that he kept private. He was 43 years old. Nyong’o, whose Nakia was Boseman’s T’Challa’s love interest in “Black Panther,” remembered the “42” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” star on the fourth anniversary of his death.
“Sorrow never ends. But that’s changing. It is a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith. This is the price of love,” Nyong’o wrote on her Instagram account. tributeciting a quote of unknown origins. “Remembering Chadwick Boseman. Forever.”
Nyong’o reflected on his bond with Boseman at BFI days after speaking to Harper’s Bazaar about a different kind of grief. She confirmed to the magazine in an interview published Wednesday that she was single, less than a year later spark love rumors with “Dawson’s Creek” alumnus Joshua Jackson. She said that her pet cat, Yo-yowhich she adopted after overcoming her feline phobia for “A Quiet Place: Day One”, helped her cope with the separation – apparently her second breakup within a year.
“If I ever get the chance to be in a romantic relationship again, it will be because of him,” she said of her fur baby.
“I was ready to close that door, lock it and lock it. He made sure my heart remained open.