Ariana DeBose becomes a meme after ‘cringe’ BAFTA performance

Ariana DeBose is looking glam!

Katie Reul editor The latest episode of “Saturday Night Live” opened with Marcello Hernandez and Heidi Gardner masquerading as two reporters from Access Hollywood stationed at the 2023 Oscars red carpet. The two recounted the miserable circumstances they’ve endured throughout the day — from limited bathroom breaks to long lines outside of the Dolby Theatre — before Hernandez chimed in, “But it’s all worth it to ask Angela Bassett if she really did the thing.” The comment was aimed at “Westside Story” star Ariana DeBose, who celebrated leading and supporting actress nominees at the 2023 BAFTA awards with a now-viral rap. But the jokes didn’t stop there; Gardner proceeded to levy jabs at the Academy, satirizing the award show’s implementation of revised security protocol following last year’s ceremony.

Julia MacCary editor Ariana DeBose, Michael B. Jordan and Janelle Monáe are among the list of celebrities presenting at the 95th Oscars. In addition to DeBose, Jordan and Monáe, the Academy also announced that Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Deepika Padukone, Questlove, Zoe Saldaña and Donnie Yen will also present at the award ceremony. DeBose takes the Oscar stage following her viral rap at February’s BAFTA ceremony, which shouted out female nominees including Angela Bassett and Viola Davis. DeBose won the supporting actress Oscar in 2022 for “West Side Story,” marking her first Academy Award nomination.

Ariana DeBose is not listening to the haters. The 32-year-old actress quickly became the center of attention after her performance at the 2023 BAFTA Awards started to go viral, and while many criticized the star for her original rap in honor of the female nominees, many others described it as a campy moment for Ariana.Now the actress has finally shared her thoughts after briefly deactivating her social media. Ariana says she achieved what she wanted from her performance during a recent interview with BBC Radio.

that spot-on! Listen to Fallon in the clip at the top and decide for yourself.DeBose had the internet in a craze days after her performance of the girl-power rap at the BAFTAs on Feb. 19 that was a combination of a tweaked “Sister Are Doing It for Themselves” and “We Are Family.”A sampling: ” Dame Emma, I’m so fond.

Ariana DeBose's viral BAFTAs rap, in which she declared «Angela Bassett did the thing,» has received its own Jimmy Fallon parody.The 48-year-old host pulled out his Neil Diamond impression to cover DeBose's name dropping performance, playing the guitar and harmonica and singing in Young's signature crooning style.«Neil Young did the thing. S/O to @arianadebose and of course, @im.angelabassett #FallonTonight,» account captioned the video.DeBose was clearly a fan, reposting the video to her Instagram Stories with a mind-blown emoji.A post shared by The Tonight Show (@fallontonight)The 32-year-old Oscar winner went viral earlier this month while performing at the 2023 BAFTAs with an original rap in which she declared, “Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my ‘Woman King,’ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us.«The initial online backlash caused DeBose to deactivate her Twitter account, but the stage and screen performer has since embraced the pop culture moment, referencing it whilepresenting at the SAG Awards this past weekend.

Ariana DeBose knows how to «do the thing» when it comes to poking fun at herself.The Oscar winner took the stage alongside Diego Luna to present at the 2023 SAG Awards on Sunday. First, the pair shared a laugh about how to quiet down the crowd — in both Spanish and English, before DeBose beckoned to Luna to read the list of nominees.«Diego, do the thing,» she said, poking fun at her viral musical clip from the 2023 BAFTAs.The moment was made even better by a perfectly-timed cutaway to Angela Bassett herself, who proved once again that she's in on the joke, sharing a laugh with DeBose.Ariana DeBose: «Diego, do the thing.» #SAGAwardspic.twitter.com/2Rc0xzFy30The reference is to DeBose's opening for the 2023 BAFTA Awards, in which she performed «Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves» and «We Are Family,» and the infamous original rap where she shouted out the awards show's female nominees, including the line, «Angela Bassett did the thing / Viola Davis, my woman king.» Bassett herself even poked fun at the new meme when she accepted her Entertainer of the Year award at the 2023 NAACP Awards on Saturday.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing,» she quipped to the audience's laughter.The 2023 SAG Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb.

Taking it all in. Angela Bassett reached out to Ariana DeBose after the West Side Story star’s BAFTAs rap went viral.

Jamie Lee Curtis is not holding back.

Jamie Lee Curtis has defended Ariana DeBose and her viral BAFTAs rap.Last weekend, DeBose opened the 2023 BAFTAs by performing an original song that name-checked various Best Actress nominees including Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh.The performance proved divisive online though, with some people calling it “cringe”. Following the backlash, DeBose deactivated her Twitter account with BAFTAs awards producer Nick Bullen described the criticism as “incredibly unfair.”“Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it.

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, performed an original song at the ceremony earlier this week that name-checked various Best Actress nominees including Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh.“Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my Woman King, Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” sang the West Side Story star as she danced around the stage. After the performance was widely mocked online, DeBose deactivated her Twitter account and BAFTAs awards producer Nick Bullen described the criticism as “incredibly unfair.”Speaking to Variety at the NAACP Image Awards last night (February 25), Bassett said she checked up on DeBose after the incident and the criticism that followed.“I DM’d her last night.

Ariana DeBose's now-infamous rap performance at the 2023 BAFTA Awards has officially come full circle. During Saturday night's 54th NAACP Image Awards, the breakout star of DeBose's viral rap, Angela Bassett, proved she knows how to carry a joke while accepting her Entertainer of the Year award onstage.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing,» she quipped to the audience's laugher.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing» — Angela Bassett as she accepts her entertainer of the year award at the #NAACPImageAwardspic.twitter.com/mevSTcKhUSThe reference is to DeBose's opening for the 2023 BAFTA Awards, in which she performed «Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves» and «We Are Family,» and the infamous original rap where she shouted out the awards show's female nominees. “Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my 'Woman King,' Blanchett Cate you're a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” sang DeBose. The camera panned to the women as they were name-dropped. Memes quickly made their rounds on social media among a wide range of responses, which seemingly led DeBose to deactivate her Twitter account. But on Instagram DeBose reacted graciously, commenting on a carousel of memes with, «Honestly I love this.»In a preview for an upcoming interview on BBC Radio 2's  posted on TikTok, the  star brushed away the criticism and focused on the love she's received.

Angela Bassett opened up about being told she “did the thing” by Ariana DeBose during a now-viral performance that opened the 2023 BAFTAs.

J. Kim Murphy Angela Bassett has simply done the thing once again. After being name-dropped by Ariana DeBose in a rap that opened the BAFTA Film Awards, the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star tells Variety that she reached out to DeBose in the aftermath to check in on her. “I DM’d her last night. I did. It was beautiful,” Bassett told Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson on the red carpet at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday evening. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay because, you know, it’s a lot of attention. And she is A-Okay.”Angela Bassett DM'd Ariana DeBose. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay, because it's a lot of attention." https://t.co/JAcEviI0Qj pic.twitter.com/anzVhOZ0cc Bassett’s mention was one of the catchier lyrics in DeBose’s opener. DeBose, who won last year’s BAFTA and Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in “West Side Story,” kicked off the British Academy Film Awards on Feb. 19 with a rap that name-dropped several of the evening’s nominees, including directors honored in debut feature and women competing in both the lead actress and supporting actress categories. The production also featured renditions of “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” and “We Are Family.”

BAFTA Awards, but the Oscar winner seems to have embraced the craze. “The Internet is wild, y’all! Appreciate all the love,” DeBose wrote on Instagram with a series of photos and TikTok videos paying tribute to her performance.

Ariana DeBose is addressing her viral 2023 BAFTAs opening performance in a new interview.

Lizzo made a playful reference to Ariana DeBose’s viral rap at the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards, during a concert in Amsterdam last night (February 23).The actor, best known for starring in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, performed an original song at the ceremony earlier this week that name-checked various Best Actress nominees including Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh.“Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my Woman King, Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” sang the West Side Story star as she danced around the stage. After the performance was widely mocked online, DeBose deactivated her Twitter account and BAFTAs awards producer Nick Bullen described the criticism as “incredibly unfair.”Last night, Lizzo drew huge cheers as she joked: “Let’s shake it off! Angela Bassett did the thing, shake it off!” before copying DeBose’s shoulder shimmy at a concert at the Ziggo Dome.

Angela Bassett did the thing, and so did Ariana DeBose!

BAFTA Film Awards.The actor, best known for starring in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, performed an original song at the ceremony that name-checked various Best Actress nominees including Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. After the performance was widely mocked online, DeBose deactivated her Twitter account.On her Instagram account, which has remained active, DeBose has responded to various memes about the performance.

Ariana DeBose was this year’s opener at the BAFTA Awards, one of the most prestigious awards shows in the film industry. DeBose kicked off the evening with a song and a rap that celebrated some of this year’s performers, including some of the women of color that earned nominations this year. The opening number has been met with some controversy, particularly in Twitter, where many memes have been shared.