‘She was snubbed’: Angela Bassett praised for ‘real’ reaction after losing Oscar to Jamie Lee Curtis

Many are supporting ‘Black Panther’ star for not ‘feigning excitement’

Angela Bassett was “snubbed” at the Oscars following a surprise win for Jamie Lee Curtis in the Best Supporting Actress category.

During the 2023 ceremony, Everything Everywhere All at Once actor Lee Curtis took home the award for Best Supporting Actress, which drew gasps from the crowd due to the fact Bassett was considered the frontrunner.

In fact, Curtis was the third favourite behind Bassett and Banshees of Inisherin star Kerry Condon, who won the Bafta for Best Supporting Actress earlier this month.

Find the full list of winners here, and all the live updates from the ceremony as it happened here.

While many are happy for Curtis, considering her lengthy Hollywood career, many are also expressing sadness for Bassett, who found herself in a similar position in 1992.

Bassett was nominated for Best Actress for her role as Tina Turner in biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It? in 1994, but was beaten by Holly Hunter, star of Jane Campion’s The Piano.

The actor’s fans are praising Bassett, who was nominated for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, following her underwhelmed reaction to the announcement. As Curtis celebrated her win, an emotional Bassett kept a blank look on her face, with many supporting her decision to not “feign excitement”.

“Angela Bassett’s reaction was for real,” one fan wrote, adding: “This woman has given so much to all her films for the Oscars to rob her yet again?!?”

“Angela Bassett deserves one and everyone knows that,” one fan wrote, adding: “Don’t get me wrong, Jamie Lee Curtis has phenomenal work but Angela’s Oscars is LONG overdue and it’s upsetting to see her get played in the face. The emotion when she lost, she had a blank face. She is amazing. She was SNUBBED.”

“Angela Bassett didn’t do the thing just to be snubbed like that,” one person said, referring to Ariana DeBose’s viral Baftas rap, which included the lyric: “Angela Bassett did the thing.”

Angela Bassett praised after looking ‘sad’ at Oscars (ABC)

Following the announcement, actors Michael B Jordan and Jonathan Majors supported Bassett while presenting an award onstage moments later.

The 2023 ceremony saw big wins for Everything Everywhere All at Once, which took home seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh.

Host Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the Los Angeles event with an opening monologue that saw him poke fun at Avatar director James Cameron, last year’s Will Smith slap and, in what was deemed a “low blow” by viewers, the poor box office performance of Babylon.

Meanwhile, Hugh Grant ruffled feathers before the ceremony had even started with his “rude” answers during a “painful” red carpet interview.