MTV has dedicated its Video Music Awards show to Chadwick Boseman, calling the Black Panther star, whose death last week at age 43 shocked fans around the world, a "true hero".
Opening the annual ceremony dedicated to the best in pop music, host Keke Palmer called Boseman "an actor whose talent and passion is a true inspiration to all the fans he touched, and everyone he encountered".
"We dedicate tonight's show to a man whose spirit touched so many. He's a true hero, not just on screen, but everything he did. His impact lives forever," Palmer said on Sunday night.
Boseman's death on Friday of colon cancer brought an outpouring of tributes ranging from former US president Barack Obama to Oprah Winfrey and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler.
Boseman had been diagnosed in 2016, his family said, but had not publicly disclosed his illness.
The VMA awards show on Sunday also ran clips of Boseman accepting an MTV Movie Award in 2018 for his role as king of the fictional African kingdom Wakanda in Black Panther and aired a black screen with the words "Rest in Power".
The 2018 superhero movie, the first in the genre to feature a predominantly black cast, jumped back into the top five on the Apple and Amazon movie charts on Sunday.
A starkly different VMAs took place across New York City's five boroughs, with little to no audience and performances outside due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Performers included BTS, The Black Eyed Peas, DaBaby, The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Maluma with CNCO and Lady Gaga with Ariana Grande.
Thanks mostly to their hit collaboration Rain on Me, Gaga and Grande led the nominations with nine. Billie Eilish and The Weeknd followed with six nominations.
Australian Associated Press
