Simone Ledward Boseman spoke with THR for an oral history marking the fifth anniversary of the Oscars at which her husband was a posthumous best actor nominee for 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.'
that took place five years ago, as part of which she shared, for the first time, the remarks that shehave given had her husband not been upset in the best actor race — he was nominated for his performance in“I had written a whole speech,” Ledward Boseman recalled.
“I wonder if I have it in my Notes.” After searching for it on her computer, she found it: “Oh! It says: I will never stop thanking God for you. Thank you to the most high God. Thank you, Carolyn and Leroy Boseman , and your mothers, and your mothers’ mothers. What purity. What honesty. What pain. What a role. What work. What beautiful, intricate humanity. What courage, bravery, fearlessness, honesty, commitment, humanity, strength. A spirit that refused to surrender to despair. What an actor. What an artist. What a cast. What a team. What a vision. Glory be to the most high God. Long live the King.”Earlier in the piece, Ledward Boseman spoke about her late husband’s years-long private battle with colon cancer, and how the outbreak of COVID impacted their lives at the time. “It’s so strange to talk about it in these words because obviously with COVID so many people lost loved ones,” she reflected. “But the timing of lockdown for what we were going through was honestly ideal. I am really grateful for that time.”, but Ledward Boseman confirmed that he had, in fact, seen the film for which he would go on to receive so much acclaim, and was even aware of the likelihood of awards recognition. “We did get a chance to see it because he was going to have to do press. What I remember most, more than the watching of the film, were the conversations around knowing that they were going to be pushing toward award season and reconciling with what he was going to be able to participate in and what he wasn’t going to be able to do because of where he was. Those were hard conversations to have. I think that’s when members of his team started to recognize, ‘OK, something’s wrong.’”award, and after his name was called at the virtual Golden Globe, Critics Choice and SAG awards ceremonies, Ledward Boseman appeared on screen and delivered powerful acceptance speeches on his behalf. “It was very cathartic to be able to talk about him, but it was challenging to figure out what I was going to say because I couldn’t say whatwas going to say,” she acknowledged. “I wanted people to be able to hear from him in whatever way they could, so I started leafing through his notebooks to find: ‘What could I give that still felt it held his spirit?’ It was an honor to be able to do that for him.” On March 15, 2021, Boseman was nominated for the best actor Oscar. During the nominations announcement, the Academy confirmed that the 93rd Oscars ceremony would take place fully in-person — unlike any of the earlier awards ceremonies — at downtown Los Angeles’ historic Union Station or one of 13 “hubs” in major cities around the world, with no option to pre-record a speech or Zoom in from home. Ledward Boseman decided to attend the ceremony and prepared the aforementioned speech in case her husband’s name was called. “I felt a lot of pressure to get it right in that moment,” she said five years later. “I went with his best friend, Logan Coles, and his publicist, Nicki Fioravante, and so it’s not like I was alone. But just to not have him there? I wish I had the words to say how alone it really did feel.”, the producers of the Oscars telecast made a fateful decision: to save the presentation of the best actor award for last. When Joaquin Phoenix opened the envelope and read the name on the card inside, it was not Boseman, but Hopkins, evoking gasps in the room. “And then it was over,” Ledward Boseman recalled. “It was awkward. It was maybe more than a little bit uncomfortable. But to be nominated for best actor is still an incredible accomplishment and is still recognition of his work. I don’t think that it was the intention of the producers for it to be uncomfortable … Looking back, it would have been better if best picture was last. It would’ve been a nice reset before the end of the night to have another celebratory moment, for someone that was hopefully able to walk up onstage and accept the award and give a speech and all of that.” Ledward Boseman, who was never shown on camera during the telecast, took the news in stride. “Denzel gave as his cast gift a dog tag with a cross on it that’s engraved and says, ‘Man gives the award, God gives the reward.’ And I think that that summed it up really perfectly.” The next morning, Hopkins posted a video to Instagram: “Good morning. Here I am in my homeland in Wales, and 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. 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.” Says Ledward Boseman, “It was very beautiful and very wonderful and very kind and thoughtful of him to include Chad in his acceptance speech. It’s not something that he had to do.”Boots Riley’s ‘I Love Boosters’ Is So Wild, Keke Palmer Is Rewatching Her Work for the First Time‘The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson’ Review: Marina Zenovich’s Doc About Murdered Cyclist Tells a Sad Story, SuperficiallyScott FeinbergThe Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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