Vin Diesel has spoken out on Paul Walker‘s death publicly for the first time, paying tribute to the late actor.
Diesel posted a series of Tweets, Instagram, and Facebook posts paying tribute to the late actor, who died November 30 in a fiery car crash.
Diesel posted a photo of himself with Walker, along with a moving quote from Scottish poet Thomas Campbell, which read: “To live in the hearts we leave behind, is not to die.” The rest of the post was just as moving:
“Pablo, I wish you could see the world right now… and the profound impact, your full life has had on it, on Us… on me… I will always love you Brian, as the brother you were… on and off screen.”
‘Brian’ refers to Walker’s character in the Fast & Furious movie franchise, where he starred alongside Diesel. His post on Facebook received over 1 million ‘likes’ in less than two hours.
The location of the car crash was closed off last night for a private memorial held for friends and family of both Paul Walker and Roger Rodas, who was driving the car when it crashed. Vin Diesel spoke at the memorial, saying: “I just wanted to say thank you for coming down here and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciate him.” He also called Walker his ‘Brother’ during a private speech held earlier that day.
>> Watch a video of Vin Diesel’s speech here.
Tyrese Gibson was also in attendance at the memorial service. Tyrese had visited the crash site alone the day before with a single yellow lily in hand. People gathered around him, but he was so overcome with emotion he broke down crying before leaving the area without saying a single word.
Others in the ‘Fast & Furious’ family to pay tribute to Walker include Ludacris, who posted a photo of the movie’s full cast holding hands around a dinner table with the words “Thankful for the Fast Family.” In the comments, he said he was ‘blessed’ by Walker’s presence. Jordana Brewster expressed disbelief that a ‘pure light’ in the world had been extinguished while Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson sent “…all [his] strength, love and faith to the Walker family during this heartbreaking time.”
Walker is survived by his 15-year old daughter Meadow Walker, who posed a moving statement to her personal Facebook account, saying: “When I was little he taught me to walk, taught me to smile, and taught me to never give up. I loved him even before I knew what love was. He was my hero. My REAL life hero! He will always be in my heart! It brings tears in my eyes as I write this. You’re gone, but not forgotten! R.I.P. Dad!”
