Screenrant has issued an apology for their tone-deaf publication of an article speculating on the future of the Black Panther franchise just hours after the unfortunate passing of star Chadwick Boseman.
On August 29th, a tweet posted to Boseman’s official Twitter account confirmed that the late actor has passed away after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
News of Chadwick Boseman’s recent passing took many by surprise, as the actor, 43, made little public mention of his condition, though recent interview appearances had sparked concern among fans regarding the actor’s health and well-being.
Huffington Post film reporter Matt Jacobs recalled an interview he conducted with Boseman in 2017 and noted his astonishment that “he was going through cancer while satisfying the physical demands of a Marvel movie…”
In the interview, Jacobs noted that Boseman looked like he had “been through the wringer”, to which the actor replied that Jacobs had “no idea” and stated that “one day I’ll live to tell the story”.
Related: Black Panther Star Letitia Wright Chides Access Media for Leaving God Out of Her Comments
Across the web, fans took time to the mourn the death of Boseman, celebrate the monumental career he had established in such a short time, and acknowledge the fervent work ethic he undertook despite his debilitating condition.
Unsurprisingly, tone-deaf Marvel Cinematic Universe fans helped push the term to the top of Twitter’s trending topics and sparked a wave of backlash from other fans who criticized those who engaged in sequel specualtion.
“What the hell is wrong with you all,” asked user @PhantomArtifice, before begging MCU fans to “have some f—-ing compassion and dignity for once”:
@iamBrandonTV told the Black Panther 2 speculators to “go f—- yourself”:
One user, @hollandmelio, took a moment to remind fans that Boseman was “so much more than a “Marvel actor”:
“If your mind goes straight to thinking about the production of Black Panther 2, you need some serious f—-ing help,” declared @BROOKLINTF:
However, ScreenRant failed to read the room and decided to publish an article titled “Can Black Panther 2 Still Happen?” within an hour of the announcement of Boseman’s death.
The article’s publication immediately sparked a massive wave of outrage across Twitter, as fans proceeded to roast the pop-culture news outlet for their unbelievable tone deafness.
@Doctor_Cupcakes, could not believe the article was “posted within an hour of his death being announced”:
Similarly, @DarkBlazeRH14 was astonished at how “there’s people hurt, sad and grieving and @screenrant is already focused on this?”:
“You disgusting pieces of s—, this isn’t important at all right now,” stated @_Neelsreeldeel:
As the backlash mounted against them, ScreenRant removed the article and apologized to their readers, stating, “This should not have happened and it has been removed. We are sorry.”:
Related: Rumor: Beyoncé In Talks To Join Black Panther 2
As of writing, all links to the speculative article now redirect readers to ScreenRant’s original announcement of Boseman’s passing.
ScreenRant writer Cooper Hood also apologized for his decision to author and publish the article, telling his Twitter audience he was “sorry for any role I inadvertently played in causing more pain at a time when we’re all figuring out how to process it.”:
Cooper also announced that he would also be “making a donation to the Colon Cancer Foundation in Boseman’s name to try and help prevent future tragedies like this from happening through early detection and, hopefully, finding a cure”:
What do you think about ScreenRant’s publication and subsequent deletion of their article? Should they have kept it up on their site? Would it have been more appropriate but at a later date? Leave a comment in the section below or let us know on social media!