Jamie Lee Curtis was with us all when she praised Ariana DeBose’s viral rap at last weekend’s BAFTA Film Awards. The “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Oscar nominee joined Angela Bassett in defending DeBose’s performance, which saw her playfully shout out to the audience some of the legendary actresses competing for Oscars this season. Although initial reactions were mixed, the bit quickly went viral and was referenced in performances by some of the biggest names in music.
comment Deadline on the PGA Awards red carpet Saturday night, Curtis praised DeBose’s performance — and didn’t mince words when he disagreed with DeBose’s critics.
“I don’t know what the hell people are doing. To me, it’s joyous, celebratory, sisterly, spicy, spicy… and just so incredibly talented,” Curtis said, before explaining that the stunned looks on the people in the room were the result of the cameras being too close to their faces. such as performance objections. “By the time it got to me, I was already loving music and having a lot of fun. Fantastic talent, these people should shut up, back off and let this woman shine her light. Because he’s awesome.”
The positive reactions from Bassett and Curtis are just the latest evidence that the cultural tides have turned in favor of DeBose’s performance, despite initial online derision. In an interview shortly after the show, BAFTA producer Nick Bullen cited the segment as an example of the kind of positive change the awards show needs to make to stay relevant to younger audiences.
“Having a social media presence has been incredibly important to us,” he said. “It was important for us to send messages to young people. It was important for us to send messages to different groups in Great Britain. We wanted to get the message across that this show is for everyone. And I think some people don’t like this change, but you know what? You have to get in with it, because changes are coming.”
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