Did Angela Bassett Do The Thing?
The 2023 ceremony of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, more commonly known as the BAFTAS, took place in London on February 19th. The awards were presented in a new location this year. In place of the historic Royal Albert Hall, the masked statues were handed out in Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall to provide a more accessible experience for attendees.
The BAFTAS is no casual event. This year, Florence Pugh, Sophie Turner, Cynthia Erivo, Hoyeon Jung, and Anya Taylor Joy wore my favorite looks – whether the gowns were encrusted with jewels or draped in velvet, these actresses proved to be showstopping.
Big winners of the night included All Quiet on the Western Front, which took home an astounding 7 awards, including Best Film, Director (Edward Berger), and Cinematography. The German film is an adaptation of the 1929 novel of the same name. The Banshees of Inisherin won 4 masked statues for Outstanding British Film, Best Film Actor in a Supporting Role (Barry Keoghan), Best Film Actress in a Supporting Role (Kerry Condon), and Best Original Screenplay. Austin Butler scored Leading Actor for portraying the titular role in Elvis. He gave a heartfelt speech where he thanked the Presley family for their “love and sharing with [him] who Elvis truly was.” Leading Actress went to Cate Blanchett for her stellar performance in the title role, musician Lydia Tár in Tár.
The most attention-grabbing part of the night was undeniably award-winning actress Ariana Debose’s opening performance. She sang a medley of covers from “We Are Family” and “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves,” along with some original bars towards the end. Debose sang directly to the female nominees, saying things like they “slayed” and made cute references to the women’s films (i.e., “Viola Davis, my Woman King). This performance has gained major attention on social media for many reasons, one being people feel the lyrics were cringey. Most notably, her line, “Angela Bassett did the thing,” is what irked the audience most of all. Young people know the words “did a thing” is often thought of as a phrase used exclusively by millennials and is seen as behind the times.
As the camera panned to the respective actresses in the audience, most had unsure expressions on their faces, leading us at home to believe that this was just as awkward in London. Viewers also pointed out that Debose seemed out of breath throughout the entire display. This would be understandable as she is dancing around the stage and has the pressure of performing on live television, except for the fact that Ariana Debose is a trained theater actor known for being in dance intensive shows on and off-Broadway like Hamilton, Bring It On, and Pippin. Debose is most well-known for her Oscar-award-winning role as Anita in 2021’s West Side Story. The public opinion is that with all of this training, Debose should have been able to deliver a cleaner performance. After all this commentary hit every social media platform, Debose deactivated her Twitter account. Even Angela Bassett herself reached out to Debose to “make sure she was okay.”
Personally, I think the public was entirely too harsh on the performer, who was just a woman supporting other women. To me, it appeared Ariana Debose was having fun as she performed at the awards that the year prior bestowed a Best Film Actress in a Supporting Role BAFTA onto herself.
XOXO, Christina