Anthony Hopkins pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman in late Oscars speech

Many viewed Hopkins' win as a snub, as Boseman was also nominated for Best Actor for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

Jared Alexander

Apr 26, 2021

While he was unable to attend the actual ceremony on Sunday night, Anthony Hopkins paid tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman in his Oscars speech uploaded to social media on Monday morning.

Anthony Hopkins won one of the night’s biggest awards at the 93rd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday. While Chadwick Boseman was widely reported to be the favorite to win Best Actor, Hopkins took home the award in the ceremony’s final hour and unfortunately was not present to accept the award during the live broadcast.

Monday morning, however, Hopkins uploaded a video to his official Instagram account in which he accepted the coveted award and paid tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.

AFI Fest 2019 - The Two Popes Gala Event — HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 18: Anthony Hopkins speaks onstage during The Two Popes Gala Event at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 18, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Netflix)

In a video taken in Wales, the acclaimed actor used the time to accept the award. He shared in the video, “Good morning, here I am in my homeland in Wales. At 83 years of age, I did not expect to get this award, I really didn’t and I’m very grateful to the Academy and thank you.”

He then took the time to mention Boseman, saying, “And I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us far too early…and again, thank you all very much. I really did not expect this. So I feel very privileged and honored. Thank you.”

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A post shared by Anthony Hopkins (@anthonyhopkins)

As theGrio previously reported Monday morning, Black Twitter was not too happy when Boseman did not posthumously receive Best Actor at the 2021 Oscars. While fans were understandably disappointed by the loss, the ceremony’s structure seemed to be the true source of the outrage.

Unlike ceremonies past, the Oscars switched up the order, ending the entire ceremony with Best Actor instead of Best Picture.

European Premiere Of Marvel Studios' Black Panther — LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 08: (EDITORS NOTE: THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN CONVERTED TO BLACK AND WHITE) 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)

As theGrio reported, LaToya Morgan, a television writer, tweeted out, “For those keeping score, people aren’t mad that Chadwick lost. It’s the way it played out.” Morgan then responded to the tweet, writing, “The build up… the let down. Chaos achievement: unlocked.”

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