Twitter's most liked tweet of all time now belongs to Chadwick Boseman

Twitter's most liked tweet of all time now belongs to Chadwick Boseman

Cattermole/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: Chadwick Boseman attends the European Premiere of Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith on February 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)

The tweet announcing that the world had lost Chadwick Boseman is now the most liked tweet of all time.

Twitter confirmed the accolade on its own verified account Saturday simply stating: "Most liked Tweet ever. A tribute fit for a King. #WakandaForever."

Boseman's account shared a black and white image of him with a statement confirming he had lost a four-year battle with colon cancer on Friday. He was 43 years old.

The message went viral and now stands alone at the top of Twitter's metrics board with more than 5.7 million likes.

The next closest tweet was one from Barack Obama in 2017 that included a quote by Nelson Mandela. The words and image have been liked more than 4.3 million times.

Posthumous Chadwick Boseman tweet is ‘most liked’ in Twitter history

Actor Chadwick Boseman appears backstage at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 27, 2019. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

The final tweet from actor Chadwick Boseman's Twitter account, which revealed his passing and fight with cancer, was the "most liked" ever on the social platform.

Twitter confirmed the record-breaking tweet online as it registered more than 5.7 million likes after an outpouring of grief and remembrance from fans and colleagues, including President Obama, Walt Disney Co. Executive Chairman Robert Iger and director Spike Lee. Followers shared it at least 2.6 million times. The most recent tweet Boseman sent was on Aug. 11 in which he shared support for fellow Howard University alumna Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.)

"Most liked Tweet ever. A tribute fit for a King. #WakandaForever," the company shared via its own account. Other highly "liked" tweets on the social media platform included Obama's 2017 message about learned racism and his January tribute to Kobe Bryant. Tweets from band BTS also earned millions of likes on their tweets.

Boseman broke boundaries with his portrayal of a Marvel superhero in "Black Panther." Along with the cast, the role brought him a Screen Actors Guild award in 2019. His career highlights include roles of real-life icons Jackie Robinson in “42,” James Brown in “Get on Up” and Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall.”

"'Black Panther' was not just a movie," said Brittney Cooper, associate professor at Rutgers University in an appearance Saturday on MSNBC. "All of the roles he played were not just movies, they were cultural experiences that affirm the depths and possibility of our humanity. What it feels like in 2020 is that we are losing the people that help us to get up every day and fight again because they show the best of us."

The 43-year-old's death shocked many in Hollywood who were unaware he had spent the last four years fighting colon cancer.

Earlier this year, Boseman appeared in Lee's Netflix drama "Da 5 Bloods" and had completed filming on another Netflix project, the 1920s-set musical drama “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” adapted from the play by August Wilson, with Viola Davis and Colman Domingo, which will be released later this year. No date has been set.

Boseman was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2016, according to the message from his Twitter account. The same year, he made his debut as comics superhero King T’Challa, whose alter ego is Black Panther, in “Captain America: Civil War.”

A candlelight vigil in memory of Boseman is scheduled at 5 p.m. for Saturday at Leimert Park. The event is organized by Project Islamic Hope, a Los Angeles civil rights organization.

Final tweet by Chadwick Boseman’s Twitter account breaks record for most likes

The final tweet on Chadwick Boseman‘s Twitter account has broken the record for most likes on the social media platform in less than 24 hours.

Boseman’s death due to colon cancer at the age of 43 years old shocked the world on Friday night, as the Black Panther star did not make his diagnosis public. His family announced his passing on Twitter, where they said it was “the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”

Twitter later confirmed that the announcement of Boseman’s death is now the most-liked tweet ever. It has about 5.9 million likes and counting at the time of writing, along with about 2.9 million retweets and comments, including from the celebrities that have worked with Boseman and the people that he has inspired.

The previous most-liked tweet was one by former U.S. President Barack Obama from August 2017, with about 4.3 million likes. Obama is one of the many people who have posted a tweet in honor of Boseman, who continued filming in between surgeries and chemotherapy.

Twitter has also reinstated the #BlackPanther emoji, as Boseman’s fans are organizing watch parties on the platform. In 2018, Black Panther was recognized as the most-tweeted about movie ever, before it was eventually toppled by Avengers: Endgame.

Boseman’s breakthrough role came in the 2013 biopic 42 as baseball legend Jackie Robinson. He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War as Black Panther, then went on to star in the character’s titular film. He also appeared in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and was due to return for Black Panther 2.