BAFTA Producer Defends Ariana DeBose Amid Criticism Over Opening Rap

Ariana DeBose is the one who truly did the thing, according to a producer of the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards.
 
In case you were MIA from social media over the weekend, the West Side Story actress opened the Feb. 19 award show with a musical number that featured a rap shouting out the female nominees sitting in the room, including Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis and Viola Davis. Suffice to say, the rap quickly went viral on social media. 

“Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis, my Woman King,” she rapped in part. “Blanchett Cate you’re a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us.”

Now, one of the show’s producers is slamming the criticism the 32-year-old has since received.

“I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank,” BAFTA producer Nick Bullen told Variety. “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.”