Ariana DeBose is getting cryptic after being blasted for her now-viral rap at the 2023 BAFTA Awards.
Despite deleting her Twitter account following Sunday’s disastrous performance, the “West Side Story” star took to her Instagram Story Monday to share a quote in an apparent attempt to send a message to her critics.
“Babygirl [sic], in a world full of choices, choose yourself,” read the message, which was originally shared by the @BossBabeCorner account.
The post is the only public statement DeBose, 32, has made since her panned performance, during which she covered the Eurythmics’ “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” and Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.”
At one point, the Oscar-winning actress inserted her own rap in which she name-dropped the UK awards show’s female nominees.
“Angela Bassett did the thing. Viola Davis, my ‘Woman King.’ Blanchett Cate, you’re a genius. Jamie Lee [Curtis], you are all of us,” she rapped as the camera cut to each actress.
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The equally maligned and beloved rap garnered instant attention on social media, where fans flocked to comment on the ridiculous nature of reducing acclaimed Bassett, 64, to someone who simply “did the thing.”
“Ariana DeBose has reportedly turned down a performance at King Charles III’s coronation,” joked one Twitter user.
“This whole performance hurts more when you remember that Ariana Debose has more Oscars than Angela Bassett,” tweeted another.
“Ariana DeBose’s rap at BAFTA is simultaneously awful and amazing. Like, I can’t stop watching it,” wrote a third viewer.
BAFTAs showrunner Nick Bullen, however, slammed people who made fun of the performance.
“The songs she was singing are very familiar songs, the room was clapping, and people were sort of dancing to the music,” he told Variety. “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.”
