Ariana DeBose is opening up about her mocked BAFTA Awards performance.
It’s been nearly four months since the “West Side Story” star was ridiculed for the rap portion of her musical performance, in which she celebrated the role of women in entertainment, leading her to deactivate her Twitter account the next day.
Now, while appearing on the cover of Marie Claire’s Ambition Issue, the actress offered an explanation for social media’s response to her musical tribute.
“What I initially started out with was much simpler. It was just a list of names, to be honest,” DeBose said of her original rap that paid tribute to the night’s female nominees.
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However, she explained that producers wanted something showier and so she collaborated with their team.
“We came up with something that was as far as I was willing to go, and that also met their needs,” she continued. “Lessons were learned. Every time you step out on a stage, there’s a chance it’s not going to go well for either you or for the audience for whatever reason. And it seems that that was one of those performances.
“You win some, you lose some.”
The Oscar-winner admitted she “did cry once” post-performance, “but it was because I felt so bad that my grandmother was seeing the really horrible things that were being said.”
DeBose, 32, explained that the comments “had actually nothing to do with the performance,” which is why they “were just ripping me apart.
“That’s when I cried,” she told the magazine, “because my grandmother loves me, and she doesn’t want to read that.”
DeBose further admitted that, since then, she’s “developed a little bit of stage fright.
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“I would be lying if I said [I haven’t],” she said of hitting the stage following the BAFTAs. “But I also challenge myself and I do scary things every day. And if I’m afraid of something, I should probably do it.
“I have found that trying to act as if I don’t feel something is not helpful. Pretending it’s not happening, not helpful,” she said of not letting self- doubt paralyze her. “Yes, I performed at the BAFTAs. Yes, the Internet had a moment about it. Yes, some things were said that I didn’t appreciate and that I found very hurtful. And yes, eventually the tide turned on the Internet and people found what I saw in it: the fun, the joy. But that doesn’t mean that along that little journey, I didn’t feel my feelings about having the Internet make fun of me for being me and doing what I love to do.
“I don’t understand that part of society,” she added. “I don’t understand why we use social media to just straight up pick on people.”
The Ambition Issue https://t.co/g5t2FOUuhr
— Marie Claire (@marieclaire) June 8, 2023
Elsewhere, DeBose opened up about being an openly queer woman voicing Disney’s character, Asha, in the upcoming animated film “Wish”.
“Even with the tumultuous times that we live in and with all the anti-LGBTQ+ hate legislation, what’s going on in Florida, they’ve stood by me,” the actress said of Disney. “They’ve allowed me to be a real partner in the making of this movie. If I can create a great working environment and be a part of the positive things that are going on, that makes more room for other people who look like me, who identify like me to come in and do the same.”
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Marie Claire‘s Ambition Issue also features the magazine’s inaugural Hollywood’s Next A-List portfolio — a collection of the performers Marie Claire’s culture editors believe have what it takes to command film and television screens for years to come. DeBose headlines the list, which also features Maude Apatow, Jennie Kim, Bella Ramsey, Ayo Edebiri, Halle Bailey and more.
