Home | WebMail | Register or Login

      Calgary | Regions | Local Traffic Report | Advertise on Action News | Contact

Sign Up

Sign Up

Please fill this form to create an account.

Already have an account? Login here.

Posted: 2023-02-25T21:55:52Z | Updated: 2023-02-25T21:55:52Z

Ariana DeBose is addressing her recent BAFTAs performance after it went viral for all the wrong reasons.

The actor and singer was widely mocked online for awkwardly rapping about all the nominated women at Sundays British Academy Film Awards. DeBose appeared to go silent and even deactivated her Twitter account amid the ridicule, but she emerged in person Saturday to address the fiasco.

Honestly, its not like I was like, Hey BAFTA, let me in! she told host Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2s Breakfast Show.

That was the assignment like, Come celebrate women. And I was like, Absolutely! And we did that, and it was fun. Not going to lie I had a blast.

DeBose told Ball that performing for her peers was awesome and fabulous, adding that she followed it up by cutting a rug with actor Emma Thompson . The Oscar-winning West Side Story star also said that director Baz Luhrmann , who won two BAFTAs in 1998, told her she did well.

He was like: No, I think youre great. That was fun. I had fun, DeBose told Ball. And I was like, work. Thats a win, you guys. And apparently, gay Twitter seemed to like it, so thats good. Ill take it.

@bbc A woman celebrating women Ariana DeBose talks for the first time about that iconic BAFTAs performance! #BBCRadio2 #BBCSounds #iPlayer original sound - BBC

Though Ball described DeBoses rap as a woman singing and dancing, being magnificent, celebrating women, much of the internet had a different reaction, turning it into a meme. The performance, which followed host Richard E. Grant s opening monologue, was certainly ripe for it.

Dame Emma, Im so fond. Ana, girl, you were great in Blonde, she rapped . Danielle D., you broke my heart. Michelle, Ive loved you from the start. Angela Bassett did the thing. Viola Davis, my Woman King. Blanchett, Cate, youre a genius. Jamie Lee, you are all of us!

While the named actors Thompson, Ana de Armas, Danielle Deadwyler, Michelle Yeoh, Bassett, Davis, Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis appeared to enjoy the performance, Twitter users shared thoughts of their own , which presumably spurred DeBose to leave the platform.

Though she has yet to reactivate her account, DeBose has garnered some high-profile supporters.

BAFTA producer Nick Bullen told Variety that the incredibly unfair criticism of DeBose, who put the whole piece together, may have resulted from a clash between the younger people her rap was aimed at and the slightly stiff, traditional crowd.

Support Free Journalism

Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Support HuffPost

On Saturday, the actor reposted an Instagram video of Lizzo emulating her rap at a concert in Amsterdam, writing, The internet is wild yall. In the comments section, The Last of Us star Melanie Lynskey told DeBose she was amazing, and actor Gabrielle Union chimed in with several red heart emojis. So it certainly seems that DeBose did ... the thing.

Support Free Journalism

Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?

Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. We hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.

Support HuffPost