Ariana DeBose Reflects on ‘Wild’ Response to Viral BAFTAs Performance

The actress can't believe her message received praise from pop stars like Lizzo and Adele.

Ariana DeBose is reacting to the internet after being made into a viral meme.

The actress, 32, took the internet by storm after opening the 2023 BAFTA Awards by performing an original song that included one lyric in particular that went viral–"Angela Bassett did the thing."

Now, she's taking to Instagram to thank everyone for all of the love, including Lizzo, 34, and Adele, 34, who gave her a shoutout at their most recent live shows.

The post featured a reposted TikTok by the "About Damn Time" singer, who quoted DeBose's now-famous lyric on stage. "I was crying on stage, so I had to shake it off," Lizzo wrote over the video of her saying, "Angela Basset did the thing; shake it off!"

"Ariana, you will always be the icon and the moment," Lizzo wrote in the caption. 

DeBose also shared a moment from Adele's concert where the singer stated, "I don't really have anything to catch you up on with my weeks, I've just been at home feeling sorry for myself, hoping I get better."

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"Although we did learn Angela Bassett did the thing, didn't we?" She added, "I Love her though, I love Ariana."

"The internet is wild y’all! 🤯Appreciate all the love 💕," DeBose wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.

The West Side Story actress also shared a snap of a bouquet of flowers from actress Wanda Sykes that read, "Ariana, I loved it. YOU did the thing. xo."

Other celebrities who gave the actress a shoutout included Todrick Hall and Halle Berry, who retweeted a post that read, "Black history month is almost over. What's the verdict this year?" to which Berry responded, "Angela Bassett did the thing."

But there was one person who everyone was waiting to hear from, and that is Angela Basset herself–and she has spoken!

While on stage to accept the Entertainer of the Year award at the NAACP Awards, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress jumped on the meme stating, "I guess Angela Bassett did the thing."

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