Waffle House Hero James Shaw, Jr. Honored at MTV Movie & TV Awards
“Receiving an award for playing a superhero is amazing,” Boseman told the audience after accepting the award. “But it’s even greater to acknowledge the heroes that we have in real life."
The MTV Movie & TV Awards honored the stars that brought some of the year’s best movies to life. Among them was Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who claimed the title of Best Hero. The South Carolina native graciously accepted the honor, thanking fans for making the success of the blockbuster smash possible, but was quick to honor a real-life hero.
“Receiving an award for playing a superhero is amazing,” Boseman told the audience after accepting the award. “But it’s even greater to acknowledge the heroes that we have in real life. So I just want to acknowledge somebody that’s here today: James Shaw Jr.”
“If you don’t know James Shaw Jr., he fought off a gunman in Antioch, Tennessee, at a Waffle House. He saved lives,” he continued, before waving Shaw up to join him onstage.
Shocked, Shaw embraced the actor, who then passed the Golden Popcorn Award and said, “This is gonna live at your house.”
James Shaw, Jr. became a household name back in April when a gunman opened fire at a Waffle House in the Nashville suburb, killing four people and injuring several others. Shaw singlehandedly confronted the shooter and wrestled the gun away, saving countless more lives. He went on to start a GoFundMe for the victim’s families and raised nearly $250,000.
The Nashville community has been forever thankful for Shaw’s quick action and have praised him countless times for his efforts. Recently, Brantley Gilbert teamed up with the local ‘I Believe in Nashville’ association to create shirts that honor Shaw’s heroic efforts.
“When you see someone like James, who just jumped up and did what he did – and you think about the lives he saved, you realize what a special kind of guy he is,” the singer said at the time. “I called my manager, Rich Egan, who heads up the ‘I Believe In Nashville’ coalition, and asked if there was any way we could do something that would shine a light and remind everyone that heroes can be real life people. We came up with the idea of creating ‘I Believe in Heroism’ t-shirts that we will sell at our May 4th Nashville show and give the proceeds to James.”
