Ariana DeBose reveals how she really feels after her BAFTA performance: ‘Not gonna lie’

Ariana DeBose is not listening to the haters. The 32-year-old actress quickly became the center of attention after her performance at the 2023 BAFTA Awards started to go viral, and while many criticized the star for her original rap in honor of the female nominees, many others described it as a campy moment for Ariana.

Now the actress has finally shared her thoughts after briefly deactivating her social media. Ariana says she achieved what she wanted from her performance during a recent interview with BBC Radio. “Honestly, it’s not like I’m like, ‘Hey BAFTA, let me in!’ They actually called me, believe it or not.”

She went on to explain that she was chosen for the performance, celebrating her peers. “That was the assignment. Like, ‘Come celebrate women,’ and I was like, ‘Absolutely!’” adding, “We did that and it was fun. Not gonna lie, I had a blast.”

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“Gay Twitter seemed to like it, so that’s good. I’ll take it,” Ariana concluded by saying, following the multiple memes and comments on Twitter. Angela Bassett defended Ariana’s performance, revealing to USA Today that it was a beautiful moment. “It has begun to turn to a positive, to be a beautiful moment. For both of us. And I am so glad because I loved it,” She said.

Jamie Lee Curtis also defended Ariana, explaining that she spoke to the guests at the event and they “absolutely loved it.” She described the performance as “joyous, celebratory, sisterly, hot, spicy,” calling Ariana “incredibly talented.”