Ariana DeBose Reacts to BAFTAs Rap Meme as Producer Calls Criticism 'Incredibly Unfair'

Everyone in Hollywood can project and predict, but no one knows who will be named the winners at the 95th Academy Awards, to be presented Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Interested parties have a hard enough time just guessing who will be nominated.“Seems to be that Viola, Michelle, Danielle & Cate are a lock for their outstanding work,” wrote actress and Academy member France Fisher in one of several controversial social media posts earlier this season, encouraging fellow awards voters to consider the performance by Andrea Riseborough in To Leslie for a nomination in the Leading Actress category.As Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis know all too well, Ms.

Lashan Browning and her Antoinette Media banner is going further into business with Paramount.

Hugh Grant, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh have become the latest A-list names to join the star-studded list of presenters at this year’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The British household names will appear alongside fellow industry heavyweights including Antonio Banderas, Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Banks at the annual event on Sunday, as the Academy of Motion Pictures and Science rewards the best and brightest film talent to have emerged in the last twelve months.

K.J. Yossman Ariana DeBose is ready to do the thing again. The Oscar-winner, who is set to play a one-off gig at the London Palladium in the U.K. next month, has said she might open her concert with her controversial BAFTA awards rap. “[The show] allows you to get to know me so I might be spilling a little tea, maybe I’ll be talking about some experiences I had during awards season,” she teased during a pre-recorded segment on Zoe Ball’s BBC radio show on Monday morning. “Who knows, I might even open the show with the BAFTA rap because you know you want to hear it again.” DeBose is set to play the Palladium in London on April 1. (“And that is not a joke, I know there are many reasons you might think it’s a joke, it’s not,” DeBose laughingly said of the show’s date).

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.

gushed to Deadline Saturday night, explaining that the lack of enthusiasm on the crowd’s face was in part due to cameramen shoving cameras into the actor’s faces.Both DeBose, 32, and Curtis were in attendance at Sunday night’s SAG Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles, California. Curtis dazzled in a low plunging red gown while DeBose was pretty in pink in a two-piece suit.“Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my ‘Woman King,’ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” DeBose, 32, rapped at the opening of the BAFTAs, which quickly became a meme.The clash of applause and critique from the internet prompted the Golden Globe-winning actress to deactivate her Twitter account.“She is a fantastic talent, these people should shut the f–k up, back the f–k off and let this woman shine just her light,” Curtis chided the haters.Her comments join in the chorus of praise for the performance amidst the online disgust – even BAFTA showrunner Nick Bullen slammed the critics, saying they probably “don’t like change.” “The songs she was singing are very familiar songs, the room was clapping, and people were sort of dancing to the music,” Bullen told Variety.

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.”

Ariana DeBose is speaking out for the first time since her “Angela Bassett did the thing" rap performance at the 2023 BAFTA Awards went viral.In a preview for an upcoming interview on BBC Radio 2's  posted Saturday on TikTok, the star brushes away the criticism and instead chooses to focus on the love she's received. Ball's among DeBose's fans who loved the performance, saying «it was a woman, singing and dancing, being magnificent, celebrating women onstage.»«You know what, you might be one of the few [who loved the performance],» DeBose said. «I'll take it, because you're my people!»DeBose, who opened the 2023 BAFTA Awards performing “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” and “We Are Family,” as well as an original rap where she shouted out the awards show's female nominees, shared a bit about how the performance came about.«Honestly, it's not like I'm like, 'Hey BAFTA, let me in.' They actually called me, believe it or not,» she said.

Ariana DeBose’s show-stopping musical number at the BAFTAs that included a rap shout-out to the women acting nominees by name has become a cottage industry. Now, the actress herself is fueling the fun, sharing some of her favorite online jabs on Instagram Saturday.

‘The Woman King’ & ‘Aftersun’ Dominate Girls On Film AwardsThe Woman King and Aftersun dominated the main awards at the second annual Girls On Film Awards. The Woman King picked up Best Ensemble, sponsored by Netflix, and Best Female Friendship On Screen. Woman King star Viola Davis was also awarded the Feminist Superhero award. Woman King lead Sheila Atim was there in person to accept the awards. Aftersun nabbed Best Feature Film Sponsored by EON Productions, while the film’s publicity team also won Best Publicity Campaign. Other big winners included Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder, which took home Best Cinematography and the Sinéad O’Connor pic Nothing Compares (Best Documentary). Nominees for the awards were chosen by a selection of critics and journalists. Girls On Film was launched by Deadline critic and broadcaster Anna Smith and producer Hedda Archbold with the aim of rewarding excellence in the field of feminism, inclusion, and diversity in cinema. Check out the full winners on the Girl On Film Twitter account.

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.

BAFTAs awards producer Nick Bullen has described the criticism of Ariana DeBose’s opening performance as “incredibly unfair.”DeBose began the ceremony with renditions of ‘Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves’ and ‘We Are Family’, before breaking into an original rap paying tribute to the awards’ 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 the West Side Story star as she danced around the stage.The performance immediately received a backlash on social media, with many describing it as “awkward” and “painful” to watch. DeBose has since deactivated her Twitter account.Sisters are doing it for themselves! The incredible @ArianaDeBose opens the 2023 #EEBAFTAs with an iconic performance! ✨ pic.twitter.com/G9YgKN2e1t— BAFTA (@BAFTA) February 19, 2023Speaking to Variety, Bullen explained that the DeBose put the “whole piece together” with her team, working closely with musical director and choreographer, and didn’t deserve the criticism.“I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank.

A song gone wrong? Ariana DeBose instantly received the meme treatment after her viral performance at the 2023 BAFTAs — but the jokes seemingly didn’t sit well.

It looks like Ariana Debose has issued her first reaction to her viral 2023 BAFTAs performance.