The entire world was devastated when news broke out that Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played Black Panther, passed away after a four-year long battle with colon cancer.
Netizens and fans poured out their sorrow on social media, with many paying tribute to how Boseman had given them pride and hope by representing black people in a movie that was shown all throughout the world.
Fellow actors and actresses in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially those who filmed alongside Boseman for the recent Avengers: End Game, expressed their heartbreak on their social media accounts as well and spoke about the good times they had together.
However, not all of them had posted about Boseman’s passing.
Elizabeth Olsen, the actress who played Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in several Marvel films, did not speak about Chadwick Boseman on social media. But instead of allowing her to grieve in private, netizens bashed her with harsh criticism, threats and name-calling for choosing to remain silent about the news.
Marvel Cinematic World shares that Elizabeth Olsen has since deactivated her Instagram account.
“Some people think that if you’re not showing your pain in public or on social media it doesn’t exist,” they wrote.
Netizens who were appalled at how Olsen was treated chimed in their support for her.
Is this really how we are to progress as a society? Does everything have to be posted on social media in order to prove anything? Choosing to remain silent about an issue does not mean that an individual does not feel deeply about it. We need to stop judging and criticising people for not speaking up about certain matters. For all you know, they could be greatly affected by it and have chosen not to deal with it publicly.
Leave people on social media alone and mind your own business! Your words hold more weight than you think.
Also read: Black Panther Actor, Chadwick Boseman, Dies At Age 42
