Angela Bassett received rousing applause at the NAACP Image Awards when she revealed that she had “done the deed,” bringing a peculiar viral moment to its logical and wonderful conclusion.
It all started a week ago (was it really only a week ago?) when fellow American actress Ariana DeBose referenced Angela Bassett in a rap honoring female nominees at the Bafta Awards.
“Angela Bassett did it, Viola Davis is my Woman King / Blanchett, Cate, you’re a genius, and Jamie Lee, you are us all!”
The song by DeBose divided opinions. It was deemed cringeworthy by critics. Particularly awful were the Angela Bassett lyric and its accompanying shoulder-shimmy.
DeBose closed her Twitter account in response to the criticism. Then the backlash to the backlash occurred.
Supporters defended the phrase as adorable, entertaining, and kitsch, and a host of celebrities, including Adele, Lizzo, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Bassett herself, rallied around DeBose.
All of these factors gave the performance and the slogan instant icon status.
What was the matter? With whom did she do it? And how frequently?
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Presumably, it was an allusion to Bassett’s excellent portrayal of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Social media has revealed the notion that the lyric may be endlessly changed for any individual or circumstance.
“History as it unfolds”
The original footage hypnotized Vogue’s Raven Smith, who wrote last week that he had fallen under its spell.
He wrote,
“I physically cannot quit rewatching.” “I’ve moved past first shock and excitement, surpassed the hump of enjoyment, and am now in a state of morbid obsession, rubbernecking the awkward audience responses and analyzing the detailed hand-ography.”
He added:
“Everyone of us should consider ourselves fortunate to have witnessed the most memorable and eerie rendition of Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves segueing into a rap serenading female Bafta contenders in history. “I have the impression that we witnessed history in real time. This is our downfall.”
“Unnervingly perplexing”
Stuart Heritage of The Guardian was less impressed with the performance, describing it as “senseless,” “deeply and unsettlingly incomprehensible,” and “one of the greatest insane musical performances of all time.”
Nonetheless, he did concur that Angela Bassett Did the Thing will have a lasting impact: “In the future, oral histories will be written about Angela Bassett Did the Thing, and films will be made about it.”
As the week progressed, “the thing’s” prominence grew and grew, rapidly transforming into the newest and greatest internet meme.
A version of the rap had reached the dancefloor of a homosexual nightclub in London’s Limehouse by the weekend.
Embracing the reaction, DeBose also reposted the footage of Adele and Lizzo using her catchphrase at their concerts.
Adele addressed her Las Vegas audience:
“I absolutely have nothing to update you on from my week… Yet, we did discover that Angela Bassett performed the deed, didn’t we?
Nonetheless, I adore her; I adore Ariana. DeBose commented,
“The internet is crazy, y’all! Thank you for all the support.”
The next Saturday night, Bassett repeated the line at the NAACP Awards to roaring applause.
“I guess Angela Bassett did it!” she exclaimed, shrugging her shoulders as she accepted the award for entertainer of the year.
One tweet containing the video has now received 1,700,000 views. Angela is hilarious!
Bassett also won Oscars for best supporting actress in a film for her work in the Black Panther sequel and best actress in a drama series for 9-1-1 on the same evening.
Bassett herself endorsed the routine on the red carpet on Saturday, telling Variety that she had texted DeBose to check on her following the uproar.
She said,
“I DM’d her last night.” I just wanted to make sure she was okay since, you know, it’s a lot of attention. Thankfully, she’s OK.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who according to DeBose’s rap is “all of us,” dismissed the celebrity’s critics.
She told Deadline at the SAG Awards that DeBose was “a tremendous talent” and advised her critics to “shut the [expletive] up” and “step back”
Curtis stated, “For me, it was jubilant, joyful, sisterly, scorching, and spicy because she is so extraordinarily skilled.”
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