HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 12: Angela Bassett attends the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images )
To quote Ariana DeBose, Angela Bassett “did the thing” in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her second-time portrayal of Queen Ramonda landed her an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress.’ But Bassett didn’t take home the win on March 12.
Instead, Jamie Lee Curtis secured the award for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. And fans online had plenty to say about what the majority are calling a ‘snub.’
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As for Angela, the actress hasn’t publicly commented on her loss. However, there’s a trending discussion about her assumed ‘disappointed’ look when DeBose announced Lee as the winner.
Fans expected Angela to take home the award on Sunday night after she recently won a Golden Globe for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for the same role.
Lee’s Oscar win is the second recent one for her Everything Everywhere All at Once role. Jamie also won the 2023 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for ‘Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role.’ Bassett was also nominated for that category for her Queen Ramonda role.
The loss has also sparked conversations about the Academy Awards voting process. According to their website, most categories receive nominations from members within that line of work. For example, “actors nominate actors.”
After the loss, writer and podcast host, Jemele Hill, shared screenshots of an Entertainment Weekly interview that highlighted the thoughts of four Academy Award voters.
“Angela Bassett’s excellence is undeniable. But a reminder of the mentality she was up against in trying to win an Academy Award. Of course, not all voters think this way, but I’m guessing this isn’t the only voter that has these kinds of views,” Hill tweeted.
In the article Hill shared, an anonymous male voter said the Academy Awards are “being held hostage…by the wokeness.” The voter specifically criticized backlash over Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler’s lack of Best Actress nominations this year for their respective roles in The Woman King and Till.
“When they get in trouble for not giving Viola Davis an award, it’s like, no sweetheart, you didn’t deserve it. We voted, and we voted for the five we though were best,” the voter said. “It’s not fair for you to start suddenly beating a frying pan and say [they’re] ignoring Black people. They’re really not, they’re making an effort. Maybe there was a time 10 years ago when they were, but they have, of all the high-profile things, been in the forefront of wanting to be inclusive. Viola Davis and the lady director need to sit down, shut up, and relax. You didn’t get a nomination–a lot of movies don’t get nominations. Viola, you have one of two Oscars, you’re doing fine.”
Minutes after Jamie gave her winning speech, Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors showed Angela some love on the Oscars stage. The Creed III actors started their presentation of the Best Cinematography award by greeting Bassett.
Jordan said, “hey auntie”–a throwback to the first time his Black Panther character Killmonger met Bassett’s character Queen Ramonda. Majors followed up with, “we love you.” The shoutout was viewed as a moment of solidarity online.
Following the show, Angela attended the Vanity Fair after-party, donning a smile and a red pantsuit with a flared matching top. She even posed with Megan Thee Stallion, who popped out for the festivities in a rare appearance since the end of Tory Lanez’s trial in December.
