# Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap > Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap is a February 2023 viral moment from the British Academy Film Awards featuring the actress performing an intense rap and dance to celebrate female nominees, popularizing the catchphrase "Angela Bassett did the thing. The Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap is a viral moment from the 76th British Academy Film Awards on February 19, 2023, in which Academy Award-winning actress Ariana DeBose performed an original rap celebrating female nominees while dancing at high intensity[1]. The performance, widely circulated under the catchphrase "Angela Bassett did the thing," became an instant source of cringe comedy and parody across Twitter and TikTok, generating over 600,000 TikTok videos within days[3]. ## Origin On February 19, 2023, Ariana DeBose hosted the 76th annual BAFTA awards at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in London[3]. DeBose, who had won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg's *West Side Story* (2021)[2], opened the ceremony with a three-part medley. The first segment was a rendition of "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves," performed with what The Guardian described as "an orgy of spinning and twirling and flung chairs[1]." The final segment was a snippet of "We Are Family." Between these bookends came the rap. DeBose rattled off names of female nominees across categories, attempting personalized rhyming couplets for each. She shouted out Charlotte Wells (*Aftersun*), Georgia Oakley and Hélène Sifre (*Blue Jean*), Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot (*Rebellion*), and many others in rapid succession[1]. The BAFTA Twitter account posted the clip that evening, where it picked up over 3.9 million views in four days[3]. - **Platform:** BAFTA broadcast (source), Twitter / TikTok (viral spread) - **Creator:** Ariana DeBose (performer) - **Date:** 2023 ## Overview During the opening of the 2023 BAFTA ceremony, host Ariana DeBose performed a medley celebrating women in film. The middle segment was an original rap in which she name-checked individual female nominees one by one while performing an energetic dance routine[1]. The rap featured awkward rhyme schemes, breathless delivery, and forced namedrops that clashed with the formality of the event. The camera repeatedly cut to nominees as DeBose shouted their names, capturing a gallery of confused, uncomfortable, and amused reactions from Hollywood's biggest stars[1]. The most quoted line, "Angela Bassett did the thing," became shorthand for the entire performance and the primary vehicle through which it spread online[3]. ## How It Spread The clip became a punching bag almost instantly. On the night of the broadcast, Twitter user @danielleloucamp posted "this is why bullying musical theatre kids is important," earning over 640 likes in two days[3]. User @ThatJakePC compared the moment to "someone waiting until the subway doors close to start reciting their poetry[3]." TikTok adopted the "Angela Bassett did the thing" line as a sound and running joke. By February 22, the hashtag #AngelaBassettDidTheThing had appeared on over 600,000 videos, with creators lip-syncing the line, inserting it into unrelated contexts, and mocking the breathless delivery[3]. TikToker bruja.rita's parody video pulled in over 7,900 likes in a single day, while apat100's clip about the lyric being stuck in his head earned 17,000 likes overnight[3]. The Guardian published a now-famous line-by-line breakdown of the entire performance, complete with screengrabbed reaction shots of bewildered nominees[1]. The article catalogued standout audience reactions: Ana de Armas looking "like a bored Roman emperor," Kerry Condon displaying "palpable concern," and Elena Sánchez Bellot collapsing "into fits of disbelieving giggles[1]." Of the rhyme scheme, the breakdown singled out DeBose's attempt to rhyme "room" with "supporting or leading, all here I presume," awarding it a sarcastic "Full marks. Standing ovation[1]." Following the backlash, DeBose deleted her Twitter account[3]. BAFTA producer Nick Bullen publicly defended the performance, calling the online reaction "incredibly unfair[3]." The press response was mixed. While some outlets framed it as a lovable misfire, most coverage leaned into the cringe factor. The awkward British accent DeBose adopted for one line, rapped "in a room full of British people, in Britain," drew particular ridicule[1]. ## How to Use The Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap typically gets referenced in a few ways: - **Catchphrase drop:** Inserting "Angela Bassett did the thing" into unrelated conversations or video edits as a non sequitur punchline. - **Cringe comparison:** Posting the clip or quoting the lyrics to describe any well-intentioned but painfully executed public performance, especially at formal events. - **Reaction shot mining:** Using the screengrabbed audience reactions (particularly Ana de Armas and Kerry Condon) as standalone reaction images to express confusion, horror, or secondhand embarrassment. - **Parody template:** Creators on TikTok adopted the format of rapping awkward rhyming tributes to people in the room, mimicking DeBose's breathless delivery and forced name-drops. ## Cultural Impact The performance became one of the defining cringe moments of early 2023. The Guardian's breakdown article, which treated the rap like a forensic examination of a crime scene, set the tone for how media covered the incident. The piece described it as "one of the all-time great berserk musical performances" and noted that "in years to come, oral histories will be written about Angela Bassett Did the Thing[1]." The incident also sparked conversation about the gap between Broadway energy and awards show audiences. DeBose, a trained Broadway performer and dancer, delivered the rap with genuine commitment. But the format collided with a room full of celebrities who had no advance warning, creating a mismatch between performer enthusiasm and audience discomfort[1]. The camera cuts to each named nominee, intended as a celebratory touch, backfired when "none of them looked even slightly pleased about it[1]." DeBose's decision to delete her Twitter account signaled the intensity of the backlash[3]. Despite the viral humiliation, she went on to host the Tony Awards again in 2023 and 2024[2], suggesting the BAFTA incident didn't derail her career. ## Fun Facts - DeBose attempted a British accent during the Sandy Powell verse, rapping about costumes and wigs in an imitation that The Guardian noted was performed "in a room full of British people, in Britain[1]." - The Guardian writer couldn't even decipher one word of the Sandy Powell line because DeBose was "huffing and puffing like a Crossfit bro[1]." - The performance followed DeBose's Academy Award win less than a year earlier, making the tonal whiplash between Oscar glory and BAFTA infamy especially stark[2]. - Maia Kenworthy, one of the nominees DeBose shouted out, had to "jam her tongue into the side of her cheek to stop herself from laughing" during the rap[1]. - Despite the backlash, DeBose went on to voice Asha in Disney's animated film *Wish* later in 2023[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap? It's a viral performance from the 2023 BAFTA ceremony in which actress Ariana DeBose performed an original rap name-checking female nominees while dancing[3]. ### Where did the Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap come from? It originated at the 76th BAFTA awards on February 19, 2023, when DeBose hosted the ceremony and opened with a musical medley that included the rap segment[1]. ### What does "Angela Bassett did the thing" mean? It's the most quoted line from the rap, used by DeBose to celebrate Angela Bassett's nomination. Online, it became a catchphrase mocking the performance's awkward lyrics[3]. ### How do you use the Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap meme? Most people quote "Angela Bassett did the thing" as a punchline, use the nominee reaction screenshots as reaction images, or create parody raps mimicking DeBose's breathless delivery[3]. ### Is the Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap still popular? The meme peaked in February 2023 and faded quickly after the initial wave of parodies. It's now referenced occasionally as a callback to one of the more memorable cringe moments of that year[3]. ### Why did Ariana DeBose delete her Twitter after the BAFTA performance? DeBose deleted her Twitter account following widespread mockery and negative reactions to the rap, though she did not publicly comment on the decision[3]. ### Did BAFTA defend the performance? Yes. BAFTA producer Nick Bullen called the online backlash "incredibly unfair" in a public statement defending DeBose[3]. ### What were the audience reactions to the rap? Cameras cut to nominees as DeBose name-checked them, capturing reactions ranging from "placid befuddlement" (Charlotte Wells) to "disbelieving giggles" (Elena Sánchez Bellot) to what The Guardian described as a "bored Roman emperor" look from Ana de Armas[1]. ### Who is Ariana DeBose? DeBose is an American actress, singer, and dancer born in 1991. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for *West Side Story* (2021) and has hosted the Tony Awards three times[2]. ### How many TikTok videos did the BAFTA Rap generate? By February 22, 2023, just three days after the ceremony, over 600,000 TikTok videos had been posted under the hashtag #AngelaBassettDidTheThing[3]. ## References 1. [‘Electric Malady? Marie, girl, what a slay’: deconstructing Ariana DeBose’s personalised Bafta rap | Baftas 2023 | The Guardian]() 2. [Ariana DeBose BAFTA Rap - Know Your Meme]() 3. [Ariana DeBose]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/ariana-debose-bafta-rap Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library