(TSN): "Hey Auntie," Michael B. Jordan shouted out to Angela Basset as he and Jonathan Majors stood to present an award at the 95th Academy Awards Sunday night.
He directed this greeting to Bassett, his co-star who had been defeated earlier that evening for fhe only acting nomination "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" received. "We love you," Majors added launching an invisible group hug from fans who reacted in disbelief online.
The veteran actress did not win the Oscar for her supporting role in the Panther follow-up. Disappointment was written all over her face.
A Twitter user wrote, "Hive assemble." It was a call for Bassett's fans to get in position to protest the Academy's decision.
Bassett, both an acting elder in the film and in Hollywood, had been waiting for the recognition since 1994 when she was nominated for her role as Tina Turner in "What's Love Got to Do With It." Long overdue, the victory would be the crown jewel in the actresses highly decorated career. She had accumulated Golden Globe and NAACP wins for masterfully dramatazing the Queen of Wakanda who lost everything. Since she died in the film this was her last hope of getting an Oscar with the Panther franchise.
When Jamie Lee Curtis' name was announced Bassett was visibly unenthused and some people are calling her a sore loser. The video of her realistic reaction has gone viral on socials. Fans are coming to her defense for not faking congrats for an award she has waited so long to receive. The actress was predicted to win.
WHY IT MATTERS
Viewers who are calling Bassett a sore loser because she displayed disappointment are subtly suggesting that she was wrong for simply being human. Black women are expected to have superhuman strength and to "grin and bear it" no matter how wrong the offense. Her reaction was authentic. The issue with the hyper criticism surroundng it is that it perpetuates unfairness and ineqaulity within the Academy that POC have been trying to elimnate in recent years. It forces the idea that the Academy was right when in fact, the efforts of Blacks and women to get the attention they deserve is an indication that the system is flawed, if not rigged.
Given the history and context around the loss her crushed reaction was understandable.
Everyone says, "Your time will come." When you keep showing up and not wi nning and you have more moons behind you than in front of you, the let down can be upsetting. Just ask Susan Lucci of "All My Children" fame who only won once even though she received a record 19 Day-time Emmy nominations.
The smug smile on her face when Curtis won could not hide her pain. While others stood to applaud she remained seated and still, clearly disappointed by the loss. Also immovable was her husband Courtney B. Vance seated next to her in unified silent protest. Aomwtimes you make the loudest statement by what you don't do. That is her right, one person tweeted. Another viewer wrote that she should have handled defeat with grace.
Media personality Bevy Smith said that it was a "shocking" loss for the Black community and the fact that Bassett stayed at the affair shows that she is a class act.
Both women are the same age, 64. Curtis had never been nominated, while she is a well respected actress with 4 decades in the industry. Some people did not feel her role was on par with Bassett's.
The Bassett reaction was trending online before they could get to the Vanity Fair after party. Despite, the roya snub, "Queen Angela" had plenty to celebrate.
Take a look at the mixture of viewer reactions from Twitter:
MICHAEL PATTERSON Angela Bassett was absolutely stunning in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
That performance was worthy of an Oscar, and incredibly worthy of being the first MCU performance to win an Oscar.
@maradceu Of course the #Oscars reward white mediocrity because in what world did Jamie Lee Curtis give a better performance in comparison to Stephanie Hsu or Angela Bassett?
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