Ariana DeBose was not impressed by a joke made at her expense at Sunday’s Critics Choice Awards. The 32-year-old actress and Broadway star was seemingly caught off-guard when presenters Bella Ramsey and Anthony Ramos took the stage.
“And then there are the actors who also think that they’re singers,” Ramsey said during the show. “Jack Black, Ariana DeBose, and Ken himself, Ryan Gosling.”
The camera cut to DeBose, a Broadway veteran who appeared in Hamilton and who went on to win an Oscar for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation of West Side Story. DeBose did not look impressed by the comment and fans quickly wondered whether the sketch was a bit.
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DeBose cleared up the speculation, taking to her Instagram Story, writing, “No I didn’t find it funny. Lol.”
Ariana DeBose/Instagram
DeBose attended the show for her role in the Disney animated film Wish, which was nominated for three Critics Choice Awards, including Best Song for “This Wish,” which DeBose’s character, Asha, sings. The song lost out to “I’m Just Ken,” which is sung by Ryan Gosling’s Ken in the hit Barbie movie.
The Prom star went viral in 2023 for her freestyle rap performance at the 76th BAFTAs where she rapped about the female nominees.
“Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my ‘Woman King,’ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” sang DeBose at the time. The camera panned to the women as they were name-dropped.
Memes quickly made their rounds on social media among a wide range of responses, which seemingly led DeBose to deactivate her Twitter account. But on Instagram DeBose reacted graciously, commenting on a carousel of memes with, “Honestly I love this.”
In the wake of the criticism, DeBose received public support from Bassett, Curtis, and more A-listers.
The 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards aired Sunday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT on The CW. Check out ETonline.com for all the coverage, as well as a full list of the night’s big winners!
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