That wasn’t its official name, by the way. Nobody knows what the official name was. Technically it was a musical performance by Ariana DeBose, but it was a performance so gormless, so busy, so deeply and unsettlingly confusing, that to give it a name would only serve to minimise it. Angela Bassett Did the Thing came as the middle part of DeBose’s medley celebrating women. The first part was a full-bore rendition of Sisters are Doin’ It For Themselves; in itself an orgy of spinning and twirling and flung chairs, performed by DuBose in the manner of someone desperately trying to spook a horse. The last part was a snatch of We Are Family, presumably because someone decided that the Baftas weren’t enough like a provincial wedding reception.
But we are not here to talk about that. We are here to talk about Angela Bassett Did the Thing; in which Academy Award-winning actress Ariana DeBose, already quite out of puff from the aforementioned horse-scaring, rapped about most of the female nominees in turn, while performing a terrifyingly high energy dance. It was excruciating, like a work dinner where the boss gets drunk and goes around the table addressing every single employee by name.
To make matters worse, the Bafta director insisted on cutting away to every woman whom DeBose namechecked as she namechecked them, which would have been a lovely touch had any of them looked even slightly pleased about it. Instead, they all just looked scared and confused. In years to come, oral histories will be written about Angela Bassett Did the Thing. Movies will be made about it. Until then, however, a line by line breakdown – with screengrabbed reaction shots – will have to suffice.
BAFTA Awards producer Nick Bullen says Ariana DeBose and her team wrote the show's opening rap themselves, and that the backlash to the performance is "incredibly unfair."
Following Ariana's perfomance one viewer wrote: 'P***ing myself laughing at Ariana DeBose's BAFTA song, why did this happen?'.
With another adding: 'Absolutely awful she wouldn't get a ingle turn on [talent show] The Voice'.
More agreed writing: 'It was awful' and 'God-awful'.
Another said: 'Got a lot of time for the celebs who smiled charmingly and awkwardly during Ariana DeBose's painful BAFTA rap'.
And: 'Ariana DeBose doing an absurd rap about the women up for things. She is, however such a pro (non more pro) so hardly matters'.
Little Simz later performed her single Heart On Fire before music legend Joan Armatrading joined her on guitar in a surprise appearance.
Fans gushed over the duo writing: 'Electrifying performance from Little Simz and Joan Armatrading'.
With another adding: 'Little Simz and Joan Armatrading? That's more like it!' and 'Joan Armatrading is a legend'.
With a fifth adding: 'Joan Armatrading playing the guitar and I'm immediately a lot more interested.
The biggest night in British film returned on Sunday evening with actor Richard E. Grant taking the helm to present the 76th EE British Academy Film Awards.
Held at the Royal Festival Hall, Richard, 65, was joined by Alison Hammond to host the star-studded ceremony, while film critic Ali Plum was on the red carpet with Vick Hope.
Thanking all of the crew and team he worked with on the film, Austin admitted he was 'just trying to take it all in,' as he fought back tears while accepting the honour.
'This means the world to me,' Butler told the ceremony, still using the Elvis drawl that he learned for Baz Luhrmann's movie.
He also paid tribute to the Presley family who offered insight into Elvis' life for the biopic, adding he 'hopes he made them proud.'
Cate Blanchett was also awarded Best Leading Actress for her performance in the biopic Tar, the film's only big win of the night.
Tearfully, she accepted the gong as she thanked her mother and director Todd Field, adding that Blanchett also said that 2022 had been an 'extraordinary year for women'.
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