Chadwick Boseman gave his 2018 MTV Movie & TV award to James Shaw Jr., aka the Waffle House hero
During the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which aired Monday, June 18th, Chadwick Boseman won Best Hero in a Movie for his role in Black Panther. But rather than accepting the award for himself, Boseman gave the honor to James Shaw Jr., aka the Waffle House hero.
“Receiving an award for playing a superhero is amazing,” Boseman said at the podium. “But it’s even greater to acknowledge the heroes we have in real life. I just want to acknowledge somebody that’s here today — James Shaw Jr.”
In the early hours of April 22nd, 2018, Travis Reinking walked into a Nashville Waffle House and killed four customers. When Reinking bent down to reload his weapon, Shaw jumped into action and overtook him. He wrestled the AR-15 assault rifle away from Reinking and threw the weapon over the counter. Shaw then pushed Reinking out of the restaurant where Reinking proceeded to flee the scene.
After the shooting, Shaw created a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the families of the victims who were killed during the attack. Within just one month, Shaw’s initial request of $15,000 was met and exceeded. The page ultimately raised over $240,000.
Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman was accepting an MTV award for playing a superhero when he invited Waffle House hero James Shaw Jr. on stage to honor a "real" hero.
"It's even greater to acknowledge the heroes we have in real life." (via MTV) pic.twitter.com/JtpkD0HKFV
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 19, 2018
"I’m not a hero," Shaw stated at a news conference mere hours after the April 22nd attack. "I’m just a regular person, and I think anybody could have did what I did if they are just pushed into that kind of cage."
Despite what Shaw says, he’s 100% a hero in our books, and we applaud Boseman for highlighting his actions.
Chadwick Boseman gave away his "Hero" MTV award to a real hero, the young man who fought off a gunman at a Waffle House, James Shaw. That may be the most humble, real thing I've ever seen an actor do. #MTVAwards
— Lily 💚 VIP+CHOICE 4 LIFE 👑🍀💜 (@lilithofnod) June 19, 2018
Congratulations to Chadwick Boseman and the Black Panther cast, crew, and family. And thank you, Mr. Shaw, for being an outstanding human being.
