“West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose shared a cryptic message after being criticized for her now-viral rap at the BAFTA awards show in London on Sunday night.
The 32-year-old actress first deactivated her Twitter account and later shared a message on her Instagram story after being mocked over her introduction rap for leading ladies, Page Six reported.
“Angela Bassett did the thing / Viola Davis, my woman king / Blanchett Cate, you’re a genius / Jamie Lee, you are all of us!” the Oscar-winning actress sang during the show.
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, 2023
“Babygirl [sic], in a world full of choices, choose yourself,” DeBose’s post read on social media following the backlash. The post was originally shared by the [BossBabeCorner] account, the outlet noted.
The actress’ post came after critics called her appearance “awful” while others said it “flopped.”
“Ariana DeBose has reportedly turned down a performance at King Charles III’s coronation,” one Twitter account joked.
Another posted, “This whole performance hurts more when you remember that Ariana Debose has more Oscars than Angela Bassett.”
While one person tweeted, “Ariana DeBose’s rap at BAFTA is simultaneously awful and amazing. Like, I can’t stop watching it.”
Another wrote, “I just know this is what Ariana DeBose was trying to do and honestly she meant so well and I feel bad that it flopped.”
BAFTA producer Nick Bullen has hit back at critics, telling Variety everybody “loved it.”
“I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen shared. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing. The songs she was singing are very familiar songs, the room was clapping, and people were sort of dancing to the music.”
“That rap section in the middle, mentioning the women in the room, was because it’s been a great year for women in film, and we wanted to celebrate that,” he added. “And here is a woman of color who is at the absolute top of her game. And she’s opening the BAFTAs with a song that said so much on so many levels. All of those mentions, I felt, from the moment we were rehearsing it right through to the transmission last night, spoke to what we wanted to do.”
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