--- title: A Guide to Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o's Relationship description: A brief history of how 'Black Panther' cast mates Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o became such good friends. canonical: https://time.com/5533941/michael-b-jordan-lupita-nyongo-relationship/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-02-21T13:46:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:57:35.563Z og:title: A Guide to Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o's Friendship og:description: Friends that travel together, stay together og:url: https://time.com/5533941/michael-b-jordan-lupita-nyongo-relationship/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a6d152fd8d644fd/6989458d86f68eebc46eb643/michael-b-jordan-lupita-nyongo-relationship.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: SiriusXM's Town Hall With The Cast Of Black Panther og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Guide to Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o's Friendship twitter:description: Friends that travel together, stay together twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a6d152fd8d644fd/6989458d86f68eebc46eb643/michael-b-jordan-lupita-nyongo-relationship.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's a Look at How Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan Became Such Great Friends  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Feb 21, 2019 1:46 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 13: Lupita Nyong'o and Michael B. Jordan take part in SiriusXM's Town Hall with the cast of Black Panther hosted by SiriusXM's Sway Calloway on February 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM) NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 13: Lupita Nyong'o and Michael B. Jordan take part in SiriusXM's Town Hall with the cast of Black Panther hosted by SiriusXM's Sway Calloway on February 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)Cindy Ord—Getty Images for SiriusXM  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Feb 21, 2019 1:46 PM UTC Of the many blessings that Marvel’s [_Black Panther_](http://time.com/black-panther/)has bestowed upon us, the special friendship between Michael B. Jordan (who plays Erik Killmonger) and Lupita Nyong’o (who plays Nakia) might rank among the top. While the pair’s chummy antics while on the press tour for _Black Panther_ and beyond (ranging from a hilarious push-up contest prank to some [good ol’ fashioned social media trolling](http://time.com/5495838/lupita-nyongo-video-golden-globes/)) have led some fans to [“ship”](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-tomorrow/201807/the-psychology-shipping) Jordan and Nyong’o as a couple, their great friendship is something to root for in and of itself. With _Black Panther_ nominated for seven Academy Awards on Sunday night, including becoming the first superhero film to be nominated for a “Best Picture” Oscar, we’ll definitely be seeing more of Jordan and Nyong’o’s friendship play out on the red carpet. Now that it’s [2019 Academy Awards](http://time.com/5517545/everything-to-know-2019-oscars/) time∂, here’s a look back at how Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o became such close friends. ## Friends that Travel Together, Stay Together Never underestimate what traveling around the world to promote your new movie can do to bond you with your co-workers. Whether it was wearing matching pajamas or engaging in some impromptu karaoke, it’s clear that Jordan and Nyong’o had a blast traveling together. ## A Good Sense of Humor Is the Foundation to Any Great Friendship At least, that’s the conclusion we came to after seeing Jordan drop and give push-ups at Nyong’o’s command, to the delight of pretty much everyone. While it appears that this arrangement came about because of some sort of bet between the two, it’s clear that everyone else came out the true winners as witnesses to these feats. ## Mutual Affirmations and Celebrations Both Jordan and Nyong’o are generous with their admiration for one another, often taking to Instagram to share their compliments publicly, especially on the occasion of a birthday or career accomplishment. ## A Healthy Appreciation for Each Other’s Company Jordan and Nyong’o genuinely seem to enjoy hanging out with each other, which is good news since their fans enjoy watching them hang out with each other. This fact isn’t lost on the two, who coyly teased fans with a hilarious video clipped where they pretended to make out with each other at a 2019 Golden Globes after-party. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5533941/michael-b-jordan-lupita-nyongo-relationship/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5533941/michael-b-jordan-lupita-nyongo-relationship/"},"headline":"Here's a Look at How Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. 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