Ariana DeBose Says Pretending Her ‘Hurtful’ BAFTAs Performance Didn’t Happen Is ‘Not Helpful’: ‘The Tide Turned’; Praises Role In Disney’s ‘Wish’
08.06.2023 - 23:01
/ etcanada.com
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.
READ MORE: Ariana DeBose Speaks Out For The First Time Since Viral BAFTAs Rap Performance
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.
READ MORE: Ariana