Ariana DeBose is laughing along with everyone else.
On Sunday night at the BAFTAs, the “West Side Story” star became the subject of endless memes on social media thanks to a rap she performed about the year’s female nominees.
READ MORE: Ariana DeBose Deactivates Twitter After BAFTAs Performance Blows Up Online
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
In particular, people online had fun making memes out of DeBose’s line, “Angela Bassett did the thing.”
On Twitter, one person joked that if and when Bassett wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, she should start her speech off by saying, “and in the words of Ariana DeBose, I did the thing.”
And when that tweet was shared to Instagram by fashion columnist Evan Ross Katz, DeBose herself got in the comments to express her delight at the joke.
“Honestly I love this,” she wrote.
This is the first time DeBose has addressed the performance and the reaction to it.
READ MORE: Ariana DeBose Sang While Sitting In Andrew Garfield’s Lap During The Tony’s
BAFTAs producer Nick Bullen defended her in an interview with Variety following the big ceremony.
“I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank,” he said of the jokes being made about the performance. “I absolutely loved it. Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it.”
