'I was deserving!' Angela Bassett on her viral face reaction when she lost Oscar to Jamie Lee Curtis
Entertainment Hollywood In 2023, Bassett had high expectations because of the awards she had won for her performance that year, making everyone including herself a fairly certain of her Oscar win.
Angela Bassett and her viral Oscar-losing reaction remain one of the most genuine moments ever seen at an award ceremony. At the Oscars 2023, Bassett was close to making history when she lost the Best Supporting Actress award to Jamie Lee Curtis.
Two years after her reaction went viral, Bassett is addressing the moment, stating that she had every right to appear "disappointed" when she lost the golden trophy.
What Angela Bassett said on her Oscar moment?
Speaking for a cover story for Town & Country's March issue, the 66-year-old actress defended her on-camera reaction, saying, “I found it interesting.''
“Interesting that I wouldn’t be allowed to be disappointed at an outcome where I thought I was deserving,” she said.
The actress added, “I love applauding people. But in that moment…”
The actress was nominated for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This was her second Academy Award nomination after being nominated in the Best Actress category for What’s Love Got to Do With It in 1994.
Also read: Oscars 2025: Robert Downey Jr., Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy and Da’Vine Joy Randolph named presenters
Explaining further, she said, “No, I have put in: put in the time, put in good work over time. I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given.”
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In 2023, Bassett had high expectations because of the awards she had won for her performance that year, making everyone including herself a fairly certain of her Oscar win.
Bassett was the front-runner in the Best Supporting Actress category, having won the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe. Bassett also made history as she became the first actor from a Marvel film to receive an Oscar nomination.
Also read: Oscars: Iconic sci-fi movies that missed Best Picture recognition
Eventually, Curtis won for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once, a movie that swept most of the Oscars that year.
For those who may not recall, when Jamie Lee Curtis' name was announced at the Academy Awards, Angela’s facial expressions were captured, and her disappointment was clearly visible. The moment instantly went viral, garnering a wave of reactions.
Also read: Oscars frontrunner Emilia Perez suffers awards season crash
Speaking about the Oscar moment, she told Oprah Winfrey in 2024 that she was "gobsmacked" when the winner was announced.
"I thought I handled it very well," said Bassett. "That was my intention, was 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," added Bassett.