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BAFTA Awards

Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande and Zendaya are used to running up against each other on the Billboard Hot 100 and running into each other at music awards shows.
But now they may also be bumping into each other at non-music awards shows. Pop Stan accounts are buzzing about the possibility that these multi-threats could be nominated for acting awards early next year. Oscar nominations are extremely hard to come by, but Golden Globes (having separate comedy and drama categories) and SAG Awards (having both individual and ensemble categories) are a bit easier to crack.

Trending on Billboard

Let’s take a closer look at these pop stars who are hoping for acting nods.

Lady Gaga

Film: Joker: Folie à Deux

Acting Nods: Gaga received an Oscar nod for actress in a leading role six years ago for playing Ally in A Star Is Born. She also received BAFTA and Golden Globe nods for both that role and for House of Gucci (2022). She won a Globe for TV’s American Horror Story: Hotel (2016). And she has received four SAG Award nominations – as lead actress and also as part of the cast of both A Star Is Born and House of Gucci.

Notes: Gaga more than held her own with Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born. If she’s good in this sequel to 2019’s Joker, she could easily be nominated. Joker: Folie à Deux is a musical psychological thriller directed by Todd Phillips, who received three Oscar nominations for his work on Joker – directing, writing and best picture. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, reprising his Oscar-winning role as the Joker, with Gaga joining the cast as his love interest Harley Quinn. Joker: Folie à Deux is scheduled for an international theatrical release on Oct. 2, followed by a U.S. release on Oct. 4.

Selena Gomez

Film: Emilia Pérez 

Acting Nods: Gomez was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for the third season of Only Murders in the Building. She has been nominated for a Golden Globe in that category in each of the last two years. And she has been nominated for a SAG Award for ensemble in a comedy series all three years the show has been on the air.

Notes: It took a while for the Emmy acting nod to come, but that’s always been a very competitive category, back to the days of Lucy and Mary Tyler Moore. And Gomez had to prove that she was a full partner with comedy greats Steve Martin and Martin Short. Over the course of three seasons, she has done that.

Emilia Pérez is a Spanish-language French musical crime comedy written and directed by Jacques Audiard. It also stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir and Édgar Ramírez. The film premiered on May 18 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and its female ensemble won the best actress award. The film has grossed $4.7 million worldwide since its theatrical release in August.

Ariana Grande

Film: Wicked

Acting Nods: Grande was nominated for a SAG Award for cast in a motion picture for Don’t Look Up.

Notes: Wicked is an upcoming musical fantasy directed by Jon M. Chu. It’s the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, which received 10 Tony nominations in 2004 (winning three). The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Grande. Wicked will premiere in London on Nov. 18, with a U.S. theatrical release scheduled for Nov. 22. The sequel, Wicked Part Two, is scheduled to be released on Nov. 21, 2025.

Zendaya

Film: Challengers

Acting Nods: Zendaya won two Primetime Emmys for outstanding lead actress in a drama series (2020 and 2022) for her role as Rue on HBO’s Euphoria. The first win made her, at age 24, the youngest winner in the history of the category. The second made her the first Black actress to win twice. Zendaya also won a Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a television series – drama (2023) for that role. And she was nominated for a SAG Award for female actor in a drama series in 2023.

Notes: This is a lead role, which would make a nomination harder to land. But she was very good in the sexy and critically acclaimed film.

Challengers is a romantic sports drama directed by Luca Guadagnino, who received an Oscar nod for best picture as a producer of Call Me by Your Name. It stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. The film has grossed $50.1 million in domestically and $94.2 million worldwide since opening in April.

There were mixed results for “Barbenheimer” in the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards nominations, which were announced on Thursday (Jan. 18). Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was the most nominated film, with 13 nods, but Greta Gerwig’s Barbie received just five nods and was passed over for both best film and best director. Oddly, the BAFTAs don’t have a category for best original song, which would have boosted Barbie’s total.
Poor Things was runner-up to Oppenheimer for most nods (11), followed by Killers of the Flower Moon and The Zone of Interest, with nine each; Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and Maestro, with seven each; and All of Us Strangers with six. Barbie tied with Saltburn, with five nods.

Nominees for best original score are the late Robbie Robertson for Killers of the Flower Moon, Ludwig Göransson for Oppenheimer, Jerskin Fendrix for Poor Things, Anthony Willis for Saltburn and Daniel Pemberton for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. All five of these scores are on the Oscar shortlist for best original score, announced on Dec. 21. Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 23.

Last year, four of the five BAFTA-nominated scores were also nominated for Oscars.

Killers of the Flower Moon was the 12th and last Martin Scorsese film that Robertson worked on. Robertson died in June at age 80.

While Killers of the Flower Moon did well in the nominations, the film’s director, Scorsese, and lead actress, Lily Gladstone, were passed over for nods.

Two music docs are nominated for documentary – American Symphony, about Jon Batiste, and Wham!, about the 1980s chart-topping pop duo.

Bradley Cooper was nominated for lead actor, director and original screenplay for his second film as a director, Maestro. He was also a triple nominee for his first film as a director, A Star Is Born (though his writing nod on that film was for best adapted screenplay). 

Fantasia Barrino is nominated for best actress for her role in The Color Purple.

Sandra Hüller was nominated for both lead actress (Anatomy of a Fall) and supporting actress (The Zone of Interest).

With both Gerwig and Emerald Fennell (Saltburn) were passed over for director nods; the only woman director in the running is Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall.

The BAFTA Film Awards ceremony takes place Feb. 18 from London’s Royal Festival Hall, with David Tennant, star of Doctor Who, hosting.

Here’s the full list of nominations for the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards:

Best film

Anatomy of a Fall — Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion

The Holdovers — Mark Johnson

Killers of the Flower Moon — Dan Friedkin, Daniel Lupi, Martin Scorsese, Bradley Thomas

Oppenheimer — Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas

Poor Things — Ed Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone

Leading actress 

Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple 

Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall 

Carey Mulligan, Maestro 

Vivian Oparah, Rye Lane

Margot Robbie, Barbie

Emma Stone, Poor Things

Leading actor

Bradley Cooper, Maestro

Colman Domingo, Rustin

Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers

Barry Keoghan, Saltburn

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

Teo Yoo, Past Lives

Supporting actress

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers

Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest

Rosamund Pike, Saltburn

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Supporting actor

Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer 

Jacob Elordi, Saltburn

Ryan Gosling, Barbie

Paul Mescal, All of Us Strangers

Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers

Director                                                                              

All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh

Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet

The Holdovers, Alexander Payne

Maestro, Bradley Cooper

Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer

Original screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall — Justine Triet, Arthur Harari

Barbie — Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach

The Holdovers — David Hemingson

Maestro — Bradley Cooper, Josh Singer

Past Lives — Celine Song

Adapted screenplay

All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh

American Fiction, Cord Jefferson

Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan

Poor Things, Tony McNamara

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer

Original score

Killers of the Flower Moon, Robbie Robertson

Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson

Poor Things, Jerskin Fendrix

Saltburn, Anthony Willis

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Daniel Pemberton

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

Blue Bag Life — Lisa Selby (Director), Rebecca Lloyd-Evans (Director, Producer), Alex Fry (Producer)

Bobi Wine: The People’s President — Christopher Sharp (Director) [also directed Moses Bwayo]

Earth Mama — Savanah Leaf (Writer, Director, Producer), Shirley O’Connor (Producer), Medb Riordan (Producer)

How to Have Sex — Molly Manning Walker (Writer, Director)

Is There Anybody Out There? — Ella Glendining (Director)

Film not in the English language

20 Days in Mariupol — Mstyslav Chernov, Raney Aronson Rath

Anatomy of a Fall — Justine Triet, Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion

Past Lives — Celine Song, David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon

Society of the Snow — J.A. Bayona, Belen Atienza

The Zone of Interest — Jonathan Glazer

Animated film

The Boy and the Heron — Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget — Sam Fell, Leyla Hobart, Steve Pegram

Elemental — Peter Sohn, Denise Ream

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Avi Arad, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, Christina Steinberg

Outstanding British film

All of Us Strangers — Andrew Haigh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Sarah Harvey

How to Have Sex — Molly Manning Walker, Emily Leo, Ivana MacKinnon, Konstantinos Kontovrakis

Napoleon — Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam, Kevin J. Walsh, David Scarpa

The Old Oak — Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty

Poor Things — Yorgos Lanthimos, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Emma Stone, Tony McNamara

Rye Lane — Raine Allen-Miller, Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo, Damian Jones, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia

Saltburn — Emerald Fennell, Josey McNamara, Margot Robbie

Scrapper — Charlotte Regan, Theo Barrowclough

Wonka — Paul King, Alexandra Derbyshire, David Heyman, Simon Farnaby

The Zone of Interest — Jonathan Glazer, James Wilson, Ewa Puszczyńska

Documentary

20 Days in Mariupol — Mstyslav Chernov, Raney Aronson Rath

American Symphony — Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino, Joedan Okun

Beyond Utopia — Madeleine Gavin, Rachel Cohen, Jana Edelbaum

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie — Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan King, Annetta Marion

Wham! — Chris Smith

Casting

All of Us Strangers — Kahleen Crawford

Anatomy of a Fall — Cynthia Arra

The Holdovers — Susan Shopmaker

How to Have Sex — Isabella Odoffin

Killers of the Flower Moon — Ellen Lewis, Rene Haynes

Cinematography

Killers of the Flower Moon, Rodrigo Prieto

Maestro, Matthew Libatique

Oppenheimer, Hoyte van Hoytema

Poor Things, Robbie Ryan

The Zone of Interest, Łukasz Żal

Editing

Anatomy of a Fall, Laurent Sénéchal

Killers of the Flower Moon, Thelma Schoonmaker

Oppenheimer, Jennifer Lame

Poor Things, Yorgos Mavropsaridis

The Zone of Interest, Paul Watts

Costume design

Barbie, Jacqueline Durran

Killers of the Flower Moon, Jacqueline West

Napoleon, Dave Crossman, Janty Yates

Oppenheimer, Ellen Mirojnick

Poor Things, Holly Waddington

Makeup & hair

Killers of the Flower Moon — Kay Georgiou, Thomas Nellen

Maestro — Sian Grigg, Kay Georgiou, Kazu Hiro, Lori McCoy-Bell

Napoleon — Jana Carboni, Francesco Pegoretti, Satinder Chumber, Julia Vernon

Oppenheimer — Luisa Abel, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Jason Hamer, Ahou Mofid

Poor Things — Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, Josh Weston

Production design

Barbie — Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

Killers of the Flower Moon — Jack Fisk, Adam Willis

Oppenheimer — Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman

Poor Things — Shona Heath, James Price, Zsuzsa Mihalek

The Zone of Interest — Chris Oddy, Joanna Maria Kuś, Katarzyna Sikora

Sound

Ferrari — Angelo Bonanni, Tony Lamberti, Andy Nelson, Lee Orloff, Bernard Weiser

Maestro — Richard King, Steve Morrow, Tom Ozanich, Jason Ruder, Dean Zupancic

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One — Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Chris Munro, Mark Taylor

Oppenheimer — Willie Burton, Richard King, Kevin O’Connell, Gary A. Rizzo

The Zone of Interest — Johnnie Burn, Tarn Willers

Special visual effects

The Creator — Jonathan Bullock, Charmaine Chan, Ian Comley, Jay Cooper

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — Theo Bialek, Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One — Neil Corbould, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland, Alex Wuttke

Napoleon — Henry Badgett, Neil Corbould, Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet

Poor Things — Simon Hughes

British short animation

Crab Day — Ross Stringer, Bartosz Stanislawek, Aleksandra Sykulak

Visible Mending — Samantha Moore, Tilley Bancroft

Wild Summon — Karni Arieli, Saul Freed, Jay Woolley

British short film

Festival of Slaps — Abdou Cissé, Cheri Darbon, George Telfer

Gorka — Joe Weiland, Alex Jefferson

Jellyfish and Lobster — Yasmin Afifi, Elizabeth Rufai

Such a Lovely Day — Simon Woods, Polly Stokes, Emma Norton, Kate Phibbs

Yellow — Elham Ehsas, Dina Mousawi, Azeem Bhati, Yiannis Manolopoulos

EE rising star award (public-voted)

Phoebe Dynevor

Ayo Edebiri

Jacob Elordi

Mia McKenna-Bruce

Sophie Wilde

It’s a crossover approximately zero people expected to happen, but somehow, it kind of works. Ever the visionary, Jimmy Fallon showed his Tonight Show viewers what it would be like if Ariana DeBose’s viral BAFTAs rap — “Angela Bassett did the thing,” you know the one — was performed by, of all people, Neil Young.
In a hilarious skit on the late-night show Monday (Feb. 27), Fallon took the stage dressed in his familiar Neil Young cosplay (bootcut jeans, a cowboy hat, long, straight hair covering his face) and performed an acoustic guitar version of DeBose’s polarizing performance, occasionally accompanying himself on harmonica. “Viola Davis, my woman king,” Fallon sang, mimicking Young’s folksy cadence. “Blanchett, Cate, you’re a genius, Jamie Lee, you are all of us.”

DeBose reacted to Fallon’s take on her Instagram Story, re-sharing the video and leaving a mind-blown emoji.

The Tonight Show host is one of many to recreate the West Side Story actress’ viral rap, which she performed while opening the BAFTAs earlier this month. Soon after clips of a breathless DeBose earnestly paying tribute to the night’s female nominees hit Twitter, a flurry of jokes, memes, compliments and critiques ensued, making the song one of the first truly iconic internet moments of 2023.

Adele even shouted out DeBose at one of her recent concerts after the clip went viral, as did Lizzo. “Angela Bassett did the thing,” the “Truth Hurts” musician quoted onstage, mimicking DeBose’s now famous shoulder shimmy.

Watch Jimmy Fallon perform Ariana Debose’s viral BAFTAs rap as Neil Young above.

Angela Bassett did the thing. The actress sent a DM to Ariana DeBose to make sure she was OK after the loud criticism her BAFTA Awards opening musical medley received last weekend.

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“I DMed her last night,” Bassett told Variety on the red carpet of the NAACP Image Awards Saturday night (Feb. 25). “I did. It was beautiful, it was beautiful, it was beautiful. I just wanted to make sure she was OK because it’s a lot of attention, and she is A-OK.”

DeBose — who won the BAFTA supporting actress award last year for West Side Story — returned to the awards ceremony this year to open the show on Feb. 19 with a rap performance inspired by this year’s female nominees, including Bassett, who was the subject of perhaps the most talked-about lyric.

“That was the assignment. Like, ‘Come celebrate women,’ and I was like, ‘Absolutely!’ We did that and it was fun. Not gonna lie, I had a blast,” DeBose told BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show.

But before DeBose spoke out about it, she had been barraged with snarky criticism and memes of her performance, which led to deactivating her Twitter account.

BAFTAs producer Nick Bullen also came to DeBose’s defense, noting, “I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it. Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing.”

Watch the clip of Bassett talking about DeBose on the red carpet below.

Ariana DeBose is opening up about her show-opening musical medley at the 2023 BAFTA Awards.
During an interview on BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, the Oscar-winning singer and actress spoke out for the first time since receiving backlash on social media after performing an original rap in honor of the female nominees at the Feb. 19 awards show in London.

Host Zoe Ball opened the conversation by praising DeBose’s performance, which mixed a high-energy medley of Eurythmics‘ “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” and Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” with a rap number that named-checked famous actresses like Angela Bassett, Viola Davis and Jamie Lee Curtis.

“You know what, you might be one of the few,” the West Side Story film reboot actress responded in a video of the interview, which was shared through TikTok on Saturday (Feb. 25). “I’ll take it, because you’re my people.”

The radio show host added, “It was a woman, singing and dancing, being magnificent, celebrating women onstage. Come on!” DeBose agreed, saying, “That’s what I wanted to do.”

“Honestly, it’s not like I’m like, ‘Hey BAFTA, let me in!’ They actually called me, believe it or not,” the actress-singer continued. “But that was the assignment. Like, ‘Come celebrate women,’ and I was like, ‘Absolutely!’ We did that and it was fun. Not gonna lie, I had a blast.”

DeBose went on to say that Elvis director Baz Luhrmann found her after the show and gave her positive feedback about the performance. She also noted that “gay Twitter seemed to like it, so that’s good. I’ll take it.”

But not all viewers enjoyed the musical medley. Following the performance, DeBose faced an avalanche of snarky criticism and memes on social media, which led to the star deactivating her Twitter account.

After the show, BAFTAs producer Nick Bullen came to DeBose’s defense. “I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen told Variety. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing.”

Another admirer of DeBose’s rap was Lizzo, who recreated the viral rap moment during a recent concert. DeBose caught wind of the TikTok video and reposted it on her Instagram page. “The internet is wild y’all!” the West Side Story star wrote. “Appreciate all the love.”

Watch a portion of DeBose’s BBC interview on TikTok below.

Lizzo did the thing. And “the thing,” of course, is the viral rap Ariana DeBose performed at the BAFTA Awards on Feb. 19, part of which the “About Damn Time” singer recreated at a recent concert.

In a Thursday night (Feb. 23) TikTok video from one of Lizzo’s recent shows, the four-time Grammy winner — looking radiant in a glittering leotard — talks to her audience onstage in between songs. “Let’s shake it off,” she says, before taking a stab at the line from DeBose’s rap that the internet is probably the most obsessed with: “Angela Bassett did the thing.”

Lizzo even did her own version of the shoulder shimmy the West Side Story film reboot actress did while performing at the BAFTAs, opening the awards show with an original rap in honor of some of the female nominees. “Angela Bassett did the thing/ Viola Davis my ‘Woman King’/ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius/ Jamie Lee you are all of us,” DeBose sang in a clip from the show that quickly set Twitter ablaze, as many of the actresses she mentioned stared blankly.

Like so many viral moments, it’s hard to pinpoint why exactly DeBose’s earnest number has been amplified and passed around as much as it has been by the internet in the past few days — evidenced by the loud cheers Lizzo received immediately after referencing it in concert — but between the clunky lyrics, campy dance moves and the camera cutting to Jamie Lee Curtis jamming out, one of the first iconic memes of 2023 was born. Some viewers’ responses to the Oscar winner’s performance were a little harsh, however, and DeBose has since deactivated her Twitter account.

People got so carried away, BAFTAs producer Nick Bullen later felt the need to come to DeBose’s defense. “I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen told Variety after the show. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing.”

Watch Lizzo recreate Ariana DeBose’s viral BAFTAs rap below:

Ariana DeBose did her homework before taking the stage to open the 2023 BAFTA Awards on Sunday night. The Oscar-winning singer/actress faced an avalanche of snarky criticism and memes after she performed a bit that mixed a high-energy version of a 1985 Eurythmics/Aretha Franklin collaboration with an original rap ticking off some of the famous and nominated women in the room.
And though some commenters dinged DeBose for what they deemed clunky bars, ever the professional, Ariana definitely had the routine down before hitting the stage, as evidenced by a 35-second TikTok video shared by Broadway music director Benjamin Rauhala on Wednesday (Feb. 22).

In the clip, the actress smiled and shimmied in place as her received her final makeup touches, with the on-screen graphics reading, “We did the thing… backstage with Ariana getting ready to… do the thing… We had SO much fun celebrating the brilliant female nominees at the BAFTAs. It was an honour to give love to all these iconic women and to get the party started.”

In fact, DeBose was bristling with energy as she put some extra on certain names and lines, still at it just before going on stage as her team adjusted the tear-away sections of her voluminous magenta gown. And though DeBose has not made an official public statement about the blowback, Rauhala’s TikTok ended with a suggestion that all fair in love and memes.

“We are giggling at everyone who has our campy little number stuck in their head. Thank you for the love and hilarious memes,” read one of the final captions. “She did the thing.”

The producer of Sunday night’s show, Nick Bullen, told Variety magazine earlier this week that the pile-on was unwarranted. “We wanted to open the show with some energy, some fun, and also lay out straight away that this was hopefully going to feel like a different night, but with a familiarity as well, and what Ariana did was exactly that,” producer Bullen said the morning after the telecast. He said that DeBose and her team put the entire bit together in close consultation with the show’s musical director and choreographer and that he didn’t think she deserved the biting reaction.

The highly choreographed bit opened with DeBose singing “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” as a group of dancers pulled at her dress and removed long pieces of fabric. The performance then flipped into a solo rap in which DeBose did call-outs to a variety of actresses in the audience.

It was the latter bit — specifically her awkward Angela Bassett and Viola Davis shout-outs — that got the Twitterverse revved up. “Angela Bassett did the thing/ Viola Davis my ‘Woman King’/ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius/ Jamie Lee you are all of us,” rapped DeBose in a clip that quickly went viral after the show thanks to what looked like less-than-enthusiastic looks on the faces of some of the actresses she mentioned.

“I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen told Variety of the criticism. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing. The songs she was singing are very familiar songs, the room was clapping, and people were sort of dancing to the music. That rap section in the middle, mentioning the women in the room, was because it’s been a great year for women in film, and we wanted to celebrate that. And here is a woman of color who is at the absolute top of her game.”

DeBose deactivated her Twitter account after the online backlash.

Watch the TikTok below.

The producer of Sunday night’s 2023 BAFTA Awards hit back at the Twitter criticism heaped on singer/actress Ariana DeBose‘s show-opening musical medley after the West Side Story star came under fire for the bit that mixed a classic 1980s hit with an original rap.
“We wanted to open the show with some energy, some fun, and also lay out straight away that this was hopefully going to feel like a different night, but with a familiarity as well, and what Ariana did was exactly that,” producer Nick Bullen told Variety the morning after the telecast. He said that DeBose and her team put the entire bit together in close consultation with the show’s musical director and choreographer and that he didn’t think she deserved the biting backlash.

Bullen said the criticism was “incredibly unfair” and that despite the awkwardness on the telecast, the mood in the room was “more celebratory.”

“I think a lot of people don’t like change, and there’s a view that the BAFTAs have to be this slightly stiff, traditional British, middle-England messaging,” said Bullen. “But American awards shows have much more razzmatazz, much more showbiz, and perhaps a broader range of people being involved. We felt we’re not about revolution, we’re about evolution.”

The highly choreographed bit opened with DeBose singing a high-energy version of the Eurythmics’ “Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves,” as a group of dancers pulled at her dress and removed long pieces of fabric. The performance then flipped into a solo rap in which DeBose did call-outs to a variety of nominated actors and celebs in the audience.

It was the latter bit — specifically her awkward Angela Bassett and Viola Davis shout-outs — that got the Twitterverse revved up. “Angela Bassett did the thing/ Viola Davis my ‘Woman King’/ Blanchett Cate you’re a genius/ Jamie Lee you are all of us,” rapped DeBose in a clip that quickly went viral after the show thanks to what looked like less-than-enthusiastic looks on the faces of the actresses she mentioned.

“I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen told Variety of the pile-on. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing. The songs she was singing are very familiar songs, the room was clapping, and people were sort of dancing to the music. That rap section in the middle, mentioning the women in the room, was because it’s been a great year for women in film, and we wanted to celebrate that. And here is a woman of color who is at the absolute top of her game.”

Oscar winner DeBose deactivated her Twitter account after the online backlash to the performance and at press time had not made a public statement about the divided reaction.

Watch DeBose’s performance and check out some of the responses below.

Volker Bertelmann’s score for All Quiet on the Western Front won a BAFTA Award for best original score on Sunday (Feb. 19). The awards were presented at Royal Festival Hall in London. The score is also nominated for an Academy Award in that category.

This was Bertelmann’s second BAFTA nomination, but his first on his own and his first under his own name. He was nominated six years ago for Lion, on which he teamed with Dustin O’Halloran. Bertelmann went by the name Hauschka at the time. He and O’Halloran were also nominated for an Oscar for that film, but lost both awards to Justin Hurwitz for La La Land.

The other scores nominated for a BAFTA Award this year were Babylon (Hurwitz), The Banshees of Inisherin (Carter Burwell), Everything Everywhere All at Once (Son Lux) and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Alexandre Desplat).

All of those scores except Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio are also nominated for Oscars. John Williams’ score for The Fabelmans is nominated instead at the Oscars. Oscar voting will conducted from March 2-7. The awards will be presented on March 12.

Unlike the Oscars, the BAFTAs don’t present an award for best original song.

All Quiet on the Western Front won in six other categories at the BAFTAs – best picture, best director (Edward Berger), best adapted screenplay, best film not in the English language, best cinematography and best sound.

Austin Butler won best actor in a leading role for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Elvis. Cate Blanchett won best actress in a leading role for Tár. The awards for best actor and actress in a supporting role went to Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon, both for The Banshees Inisherin.

All Quiet on the Western Front leads this year’s BAFTA nominations with 14 nods, which puts it in a tie with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) as the most-nominated non-English language film in BAFTA history.
The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All at Once are tied for second place in overall nominations this year with 10 nods.

All three of these films are nominated for best original score. Volker Bertelmann scored All Quiet on the Western Front; Carter Burwell scored The Banshees of Inisherin and Son Lux scored Everything Everywhere All at Once.

The other nominees for original score are Babylon (Justin Hurwitz) and Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (Alexandre Desplat).

All five of these scores were among the 15 scores shortlisted for Oscars on Dec. 21. Oscar nominations will be announced on Tuesday Jan. 24.

Desplat is a three-time winner for original score at the BAFTA Awards — for The King’s Speech (2010), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Shape of Water (2017). Only two other composers have won three or more awards in this category in the history of the BAFTAs. John Williams leads with seven wins, followed by Ennio Morricone with six. Hurwitz won in this category at the BAFTAs six years ago for La La Land.

Bertelmann referenced All Quiet’s strong showing in a statement: “I am deeply honored to be nominated for a BAFTA, especially in connection with such a well-crafted and meaningful film. The collaboration with [director] Edward Berger gave me the freedom to work on a score without compromise. I am very thankful for that. Congrats to Edward, the producers and the entire team on their 14 nominations.”

In a statement, Son Lux, the composer of Everything Everywhere All at Once, said: “Our heads are spinning and our hearts are full. Thanks to BAFTA for this honor, to Daniels [directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert] for their boundless vision and trust, and to each and every member of the EEAAO [Everything Everywhere All at Once] family for inspiring us beyond words.”

The BAFTAs do not have a best original song category.

In other nominations of interest to the music community, Austin Butler was nominated for leading actor for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Elvis, and Brett Morgan’s David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream is up for documentary.

These are the first BAFTA nominations for Butler, Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once), among others.

Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical family drama The Fabelmans received just one BAFTA nomination, for original screenplay – on which Spielberg collaborated with Tony Kushner. Sarah Polley’s Women Talking was shut out entirely.

In the best director category, four of the six nominated directors are first-time nominees in that category: Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King); Todd Field (Tár), Kwan and Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front).

Actors Hayley Atwell and Toheeb Jimoh announced this year’s BAFTA nominations via a live broadcast from BAFTA’s London headquarters on Thursday (Jan. 19). This year’s awards will be presented at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, Feb. 19.

Here’s the complete list of BAFTA Award nominations.

Original score

All Quiet on the Western Front – Volker Bertelmann

Babylon – Justin Hurwitz

The Banshees of Inisherin – Carter Burwell

Everything Everywhere All at Once – Son Lux

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio – Alexandre Desplat

Best film

All Quiet on the Western Front – Malte Grunert

The Banshees Of Inisherin – Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin Mcdonagh

Elvis – Gail Berman, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Patrick Mccormick, Schuyler Weiss

Everything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang

Tár – Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra Milchan

Leading actress

Cate Blanchett – Tár

Viola Davis – The Woman King

Danielle Deadwyler – Till

Ana De Armas – Blonde

Emma Thompson – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Leading actor

Austin Butler – Elvis

Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin

Brendan Fraser – The Whale

Daryl Mccormack – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

Paul Mescal – Aftersun

Bill Nighy – Living

Supporting actress

Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Hong Chau – The Whale

Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin

Dolly De Leon – Triangle of Sadness

Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Carey Mulligan – She Said

Supporting actor

Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin

Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin

Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Eddie Redmayne – The Good Nurse

Albrecht Schuch – All Quiet on the Western Front

Micheal Ward – Empire of Light

Director

All Quiet on the Western Front – Edward Berger

The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin Mcdonagh

Decision to Leave – Park Chan-wook

Everything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Tár – Todd Field

The Woman King – Gina Prince-bythewood

Original screenplay

The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin Mcdonagh

Everything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

The Fabelmans – Tony Kushner, Steven Spielberg

Tár – Todd Field

Triangle of Sadness – Ruben Östlund

Adapted screenplay

All Quiet on the Western Front – Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell

Living – Kazuo Ishiguro

The Quiet Girl – Colm Bairéad

She Said – Rebecca Lenkiewicz

The Whale – Samuel D. Hunter

Film not in the English language

All Quiet on the Western Front – Edward Berger, Malte Grunert

Argentina, 1985 – Santiago Mitre, Producer(S) Tbc

Corsage – Marie Kreutzer

Decision to Leave – Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seok

The Quiet Girl – Colm Bairéad, Cleona Ní Chrualaoí

Documentary

All That Breathes – Shaunak Sen, Teddy Leifer, Aman Mann

All The Beauty and the Bloodshed – Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov, John Lyons

Fire of Love – Sara Dosa, Shane Boris, Ina Fichman

Moonage Daydream – Brett Morgan

Navalny – Daniel Roher, Diane Becker, Shane Boris, Melanie Miller, Odessa Rae

Animated film

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio – Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar, Alex Bulkley

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On – Dean Fleisher Camp, Andrew Goldman, Elisabeth Holm, Caroline Kaplan, Paul Mezey

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish – Joel Crawford, Mark Swift

Turning Red – Domee Shi, Lindsey Collins

Casting

Aftersun – Lucy Pardee

All Quiet on the Western Front – Simone Bär

Elvis – Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian

Everything Everywhere All at Once – Sarah Halley Finn

Triangle Of Sadness – Pauline Hansson

Cinematography

All Quiet on the Western Front – James Friend

The Batman – Greig Fraser

Elvis – Mandy Walker

Empire of Light – Roger Deakins

Top Gun: Maverick – Claudio Miranda

Editing

All Quiet on the Western Front – Sven Budelmann

The Banshees of Inisherin – Mikkel E. G. Nielsen

Elvis – Jonathan Redmond, Matt Villa

Everything Everywhere All at Once – Paul Rogers

Top Gun: Maverick – Eddie Hamilton

Production design

All Quiet on the Western Front – Christian M. Goldbeck, Ernestine Hipper

Babylon – Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino

The Batman – James Chinlund, Lee Sandales

Elvis – Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio – Curt Enderle, Guy Davis

Costume design

All Quiet on the Western Front – Lisy Christl

Amsterdam – J.R. Hawbaker, Albert Wolsky

Babylon – Mary Zophres

Elvis – Catherine Martin

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris – Jenny Beavan

Make up & hair

All Quiet on the Western Front – Heike Merker

The Batman – Naomi Donne, Mike Marino, Zoe Tahir

Elvis – Jason Baird, Mark Coulier, Louise Coulston, Shane Thomas

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical – Naomi Donne, Barrie Gower, Sharon Martin

The Whale – Anne Marie Bradley, Judy Chin, Adrien Morot

Sound

All Quiet on the Western Front – Lars Ginzsel, Frank Kruse, Viktor Prášil, Markus Stemler

Avatar: The Way of Water – Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Julian Howarth, Gary Summers, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

Elvis – Michael Keller, David Lee, Andy Nelson, Wayne Pashley

Tár – Deb Adair, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley, Steve Single, Roland Winke

Top Gun: Maverick – Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Mark Taylor, Mark Weingarten

Special visual effects

All Quiet on the Western Front – Markus Frank, Kamil Jafar, Viktor Müller, Frank Petzoid

Avatar: The Way of Water – Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon

The Batman – Russell Earl, Dan Lemmon, Anders Langlands, Dominic Tuohy

Everything Everywhere All at Once – Benjamin Brewer, Ethan Feldbau, Jonathan Kombrinck, Zak Stoltz

Top Gun: Maverick – Seth Hill, Scott R. Fisher, Bryan Litson, Ryan Tudhope

Outstanding British film

Aftersun – Charlotte Wells, Producer(S) Tbc

The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin Mcdonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin

Brian and Charles – Jim Archer, Rupert Majendie, David Earl, Chris Hayward

Empire of Light – Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande – Sophie Hyde, Debbie Gray, Adrian Politowski, Katy Brand

Living – Oliver Hermanus, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Kazuo Ishiguro

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical – Matthew Warchus, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn, Luke Kelly, Dennis Kelly

See How They Run – Tom George, Gina Carter, Damian Jones, Mark Chappell

The Swimmers – Sally El Hosaini, Producer(S) Tbc, Jack Thorne

The Wonder – Sebastián Lelio, Ed Guiney, Juliette Howell, Andrew Lowe, Tessa Ross, Alice Birch, Emma Donoghue

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

Aftersun – Charlotte Wells (Writer/director)

Blue Jean – Georgia Oakley (Writer/director), Hélène Sifre (Producer)

Electric Malady – Marie Lidén (Director)

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande – Katy Brand (Writer)

Rebellion – Maia Kenworthy (Director)

British short animation

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy, Cara Speller, Hannah Minghella

Middle Watch – John Stevenson, Aiesha Penwarden, Giles Healy

Your Mountain Is Waiting – Hannah Jacobs, Zoe Muslim, Harriet Gillian

British short film

The Ballad of Olive Morris – Alex Kayode-kay

Bazigaga – Jo Ingabire Moys, Stephanie Charmail

Bus Girl – Jessica Henwick, Louise Palmkvist Hansen

A Drifting Up – Jacob Lee

An Irish Goodbye – Tom Berkeley, Ross White

EE rising star award (voted for by the public)

Aimee Lou Wood

Daryl Mccormack

Emma Mackey

Naomi Ackie

Sheila Atim