As we countdown to the 2024 Oscars on Sunday, March 10, it evokes memories of the disappointment our dear auntie Angela Bassett faced last year.
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Like those viewing from home, Angela Bassett also felt shocked when her name wasn’t announced for the Best Supporting Actress award. She and her husband, Courtney B. Vance, are now opening up about their reactions to that night for the first time.
In the year preceding the Oscars, her outstanding portrayal in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as Queen Ramonda the seasoned actress secured accolades at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards for . Despite her confidence and optimism, Jamie Lee Curtis received the Best Supporting Actress award at the Oscars for “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
Bassett always carries herself with class and confidence, so it wasn’t a shock to see how gracefully she handled the loss. Still, you could feel the disappointment in that moment.
According to Variety, in a recent interview with Oprah as part of the “OWN Spotlight” series, Angela Bassett admitted she was “gobsmacked” when she lost the Oscar for supporting actress last year.
“I was gobsmacked! I was,” Bassett responded. “I thought I handled it very well. That was my intention, to handle it very well. It was, of course, a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human. So I thought, yes, I was disappointed and I handled it like a human being.”
Bassett said handling the Oscar loss with grace was of the utmost importance “for myself and for my children who were there with me.”
Her husband and fellow thespian stated, “We look at it and we’re the same people when they like us, when they want us and when they don’t. So we just keep moving.” He continued, “Eventually the world comes around to you and then one minute you’re hot, one minute you’re a little tepid, but you’re still you. So we really try not to let it faze us.”
Angela Bassett Got Over Losing The Oscar With Beyoncé’s Help & Still Ended Up Winning
Big props to her partner for not letting the loss overshadow the night. Instead, they found themselves at Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s event, opting to “party like it was 1999.”
“It hurt her feelings when she didn’t win the Oscar this last go-round, but we decided to party like it was 1999 that night and they weren’t going to run us home,” Vance says. “So we ended up at Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s party and life goes on. I believe her best work is ahead of her. So maybe it re-energized people about her, but she’s the most amazing actress in the world. Folks who know, know and the folks who don’t know, maybe they were re-energized, maybe they were energized.”
Regrettably, this isn’t the first time Bassett has faced disappointment at the Academy Awards. In 1994, she earned her initial nomination for Best Actress in “What’s Love Got To Do With It” (1993). Many still believe the Academy unjustly denied Bassett’s iconic performance.
Yet, in January, she received an honorary Oscar for her significant contributions to the film industry. During her acceptance speech, she highlighted that Halle Berry remains the sole Black woman to secure the Best Actress Oscar.
Bassett left her fans with some sound advice:
“There are going to be these moments of disappointment that you’ll experience, but how do you handle yourself in the midst of them?” said. “We’re going to smile, we’re going to be gracious, we’re going to be kind, we’re going to party anyway.”
Check out the intimate conversation with Angela Bassett and Oprah below.