Angela Bassett says losing Oscar to Jamie Lee Curtis was a ‘supreme disappointment’

The actor’s unguarded reaction to losing out on the award went viral at the time

Black Panther actor Angela Bassett has addressed her her viral reaction to losing the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress last year.

At the Academy Awards in March 2023, Bassett was nominated for her role as queen and matriarch, Ramonda, in the Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever .

Bassett, 65, lost out to Jamie Lee Curtis, who won the award for her role as Deirdre Beaubeirdre, an IRS inspector, in the surreal A24 film Everything Everywhere All At Once.

While fellow nominees Hong Chau (for The Whale), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) and Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) could be seen smiling and applauding as Curtis stood to accept the award when her names was read aloud, Bassett appeared crestfallen and upset.

Her reaction soon went viral on X/Twitter as fans said, “You can tell how much that Oscar would have meant to her”.

In a new interview with Oprah Winfrey for OWN Spotlight, Bassett spoke out about the loss, calling it a “supreme disappointment”.

Responding to Oprah, who said she was sure that Bassett would take home the prize, the actor laughed and said that she was “gobsmacked” when her name was not called out.

Angela Bassett and Austin Butler at the Oscars (ABC)

“‘Angela Bassett face’ became all over the internet,” Oprah said. “People were saying your disappointment showed, but I thought you handled it very well.”

Bassett agreed, stating: “I thought I handled it very well, also. And that was my intention, to handle it very well. It was, of course, a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human.

“So I thought, yes, I was disappointed, and I handled it like a human being.”

Oprah told Bassett that she had been “as gracious as a queen would be” in her response, which Bassett said she had done for herself and for her children.

Angela Bassett opened up about her viral reaction to losing out to Jamie Lee Curtis (OWN)

“There are going to be these moments of disappointment that they’re going to experience, but how do you handle yourself in the midst of them?” Angela added.

“So, we’re going to smile, we’re going to be gracious, we’re going to be kind, we’re going to party anyway.”

At the time, Bassett was the first actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be nominated for an Oscar. It had also been her first nod in 30 years, having previously been nominated for her performance as Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic, What’s Love Got To Do With It.

Earlier this year, she received an honorary Academy Award for her acting career.

“Thank you, thank you to the Academy and the Board of Governors for this award,” Bassett said in her 15-minute acceptance speech at the 14th annual Governors Awards.

“I have considered acting my calling and not just my career. I do this work because I find it meaningful and I hope in some way that it makes a difference and has an impact. To be recognised in this way for what I love doing is truly wonderful and I am beyond grateful.”