Viral Dave Bautista photos prove we learned nothing from Chadwick Boseman’s death

On August 29, 2020, the world awoke to the news that rising star Chadwick Boseman had passed away at just 43 years old. 

Following Mr Boseman’s tragic passing, there was an outpouring of grief across social media from friends, family, and fans. It was a fitting tribute to a charismatic actor, beloved family man, and dedicated philanthropist.

Yet, while the response from fans was no doubt a comfort to those who knew Chadwick, it can’t be denied that in the weeks and months before his death, the internet was a lot less kind to the Marvel star. 

Chadwick had lived with colon cancer since 2016, and the disease had an impact on his physical fitness. Indeed, if you look back at photos from 2020, it’s undeniable that the Black Panther star looked thin, and the press was quick to jump on it. A quick Google search will bring up countless articles from around the time about his “gaunt appearance,” “fan concern,” and icky guides asking, “Why is Chadwick Boseman so skinny?”

People learned nothing

Netflix

With the benefit of hindsight (and perhaps without), these articles are in very poor taste, but it’s on social media, predictably, where humanity proved its capacity for cruelty. Mean nicknames that I won’t repeat here were thrown around, insinuating Boseman was a drug addict, and that was the cause of his weight loss. Others suggested he had an eating disorder, and it was all very, very gross.

Needless to say, these people went quiet when Boseman passed. Trolls across the Internet, who normally delight in callous irreverence, were silenced; writers who weeks earlier had been speculating about the reasons for Boseman’s skeletal frame penned passionate op-eds about the need for kindness. There was a promise, perhaps unspoken, to be better. 

Well, that lasted about five minutes. The constant carousel of online journalism and the need for clicks, likes, and attention drove writers and social media jokers back to their usual tricks within weeks. All of which brings me to today when photos of another Marvel Star – this time Dave Bautista, who plays Drax in the brilliant Guardians of the Galaxy movies – looking thin have hit the web and immediately gone viral. 

Websites are expressing their concern about Bautista’s weight loss, Twitter accounts are asking, “What happened to Dave Bautista?” and it’s all very familiar. If anything proves we learned nothing from Boseman’s death, it’s this eternal merry-go-round of body shaming and ignorant speculation. 

Be better

Warner Bros.

Here’s the thing: I was going to write about all the reasonable explanations for the former wrestler’s weight loss, none of which involve him being ill, but you know what? I’m not going to do that. It’s none of my damned business, and I don’t know jacksh*t about what’s going on with Bautista.

Bautista doesn’t owe me or anyone an explanation for losing weight, and we shouldn’t ask. That’s between him and his family, not me, you, and some tawdry gossip rag.

Celebs don’t owe you anything just because you like their movies and follow them on Instagram. They’re people with lives of their own, not zoo animals to be gawped at, and we should treat them with the dignity and respect you’d show to your friends and family. 

So remember the lessons of Boseman’s death before you make a fool of yourself. Oh, and if you clicked this to see the photos and have scrolled down to the bottom looking for them, I’m sorry – you missed the point of this piece. But you should probably read it; you need it most.