Hollywood
Ariana DeBose Addresses Viral BAFTAs Rap: “The Internet Is Wild”
Ariana DeBose is doing the thing and sharing her thoughts about the reaction to her much-debated viral rap from the recent 2023 BAFTA Awards ceremony.
The Oscar winner took to Instagram on Saturday to post a carousel of images and footage related to her musical performance while recently hosting the BAFTAs. During Sunday’s awards ceremony, DeBose rapped about a number of the nominees and used the line “Angela Bassett did the thing,” leading to widespread social media commentary.
“The internet is wild y’all!” DeBose wrote in her post. “Appreciate all the love.”
Her carousel included footage from the stage of Lizzo’s Thursday concert in Amsterdam, during which the music star told her audience to “shake it off” before twice reciting the now-infamous line about Bassett and seeming to mimic DeBose’s body movement from the awards show.
DeBose’s post also included a tweet from Halle Berry that used the Bassett line, in addition to a photo of a floral bouquet that Wanda Sykes apparently sent to DeBose after the ceremony with an accompanying card that read, “I loved it! You did the thing.”
On Friday, Lizzo shared video from her concert via TikTok and included the caption, “Ariana you will always be the icon and the moment.”
During the BAFTAs, DeBose sang a musical medley of “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” and “We Are Family” that also included an original number in which she paid tribute to the actresses who were nominated. Among the women mentioned were Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Angela Bassett, The Woman King’s Viola Davis, Tár’s Cate Blanchett and Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Jamie Lee Curtis.
“Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my Woman King, Blanchett Cate you’re a genius and Jamie Lee you are all of us,” DeBose sang.
Social media users had plenty of opinions after the video of DeBose spread online, but the West Side Story star herself hadn’t previously said much about the performance. Her Twitter account is currently deactivated, but she did respond during the week to an Instagram user who shared a collection of memes resulting from her performance. “Honestly I love this,” DeBose commented.
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