Ariana DeBose did it. Twitter went crazy over the rap DeBose performed at the 2023 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) on February 19, praising its cringe and camp factor. To open the ceremony, the Oscar winner performed a medley of disco classics "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves" and "We Are Family" before launching into a rap celebrating the female nominees, including Contains many quotable lyrics and imitation-worthy moments, including her rather vivid pronunciation of Angela Bassett.
"Angela Bassett did it, Viola Davis, my queen ," she said in part. "Blanchett Cat, you're a genius, Jamie Lee, you're all of us." As DeBose called them out, the camera panned to nearly all of the nominees, and reactions ranged from awe (Cotti (She shakes her head) to confused (Ana de Armas looks bored) and everything in between (Davis snaps her fingers awkwardly in the background). The one reaction shot they missed was of Bassett in attendance, but considering they would have missed DeBose's dramatic dance moves, it was for the best.
Amid the reaction to her performance, DeBose appeared to delete her Twitter account, with BAFTA producer Nick Bullen defending her, calling the backlash "grossly unfair" ”, she and her team “put the whole thing together.” "I think a lot of people don't like change, and there's a view that the BAFTA awards have to convey this slightly rigid, traditional British, middle-of-England message," he told Variety . “We feel like our concern is not revolution, but evolution.”
However, as captured in Celebrity Comments, DeBose weighed in on the memes, commenting on Evan Ross Katz's Instagram slideshow, which included a viral tweet , which reads: "When Angela Bassett won an Oscar, she had to start her speech by saying, 'And in the words of Ariana DeBose, I did.'" This The "West Side Story" star couldn't agree more. "Honestly, I love this," she wrote.
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Twitter immediately became obsessed with DeBose's rap, teasing everything from the lyrics to the actor's reactions while also acknowledging that the song was free in their heads.
"Angela Bassett did it" alone sparked many tweets and conversations, especially regarding Bassett's Oscar nomination for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever .
Thankfully, many Twitter users appreciated DeBose's rap, praised her for breathing life into BAFTA, and, of course, called her a gay icon.
Normally, according to Oscar tradition, DeBose will present the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2023 ceremony. She won the Best Supporting Actress award in 2022 for "West Side Story" . But if the producers didn't seize the opportunity and give the Best Supporting Actress award to the widely predicted Bassett, they weren't doing it right.
