Ariana DeBose and the Five Stages of Reaction to ‘Angela Bassett Did the Thing’

I remember where I was when Ariana DeBose did the thing.

I was watching the oft-overlooked movie musical Burlesque on a sleepy Sunday afternoon when my boyfriend, from the adjoining couch, said, “Oh no.” I asked him what was wrong, and he tossed me his phone. On it, a video of a beleaguered Ariana DeBose at the BAFTAs, performing a number that combined tweaked versions of “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves,” “We Are Family,” and an instantly infamous rap that called out female performers and creatives.

For the back half of the performance, DeBose was breathless, presumably from a year of carrying the West Side Story campaign and Tony Awards telecast on her back. But also because I believe—and I have not, nor will I be, checking this—she addressed every woman in the room in about two minutes.

Read more at The Daily Beast.