Ariana DeBose proved she has a sense of humour over the whole “Angela Bassett did the thing” meme when she poked fun at her viral Baftas song during another awards show appearance at the weekend.
The West Side Story star became an internet sensation when she sang about a number of women’s achievements in the film industry during a performance opening last Sunday’s Baftas ceremony.
In particular, the lyrics “Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis, my Woman King” sparked memes, jokes and remixes galore on social media.
While Ariana initially deactivated her Twitter account as her song went viral, on Sunday night she made a joke about it while presenting a gong at the SAG Awards.
Appearing on stage with actor Diego Luna to present the award for Female Actor in a Drama Series – which eventually went to White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge – Ariana cued up her co-host by saying: “Diego, do the thing.”
Her deadpan remark drew laughs from the audience, as the cameras also cut to Angela Bassett blowing a kiss at Ariana.
Ariana’s joke came just hours after Angela brought the meme full circle by referencing it in during an acceptance speech at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday.
After picking up one of the three prizes she was awarded on the night, Angela joked: “I guess Angela Bassett did the thing!” much to the amusement of the audience.
Prior to the awards, Angela told Variety she had spoken to Ariana saying: “I DMed her last night. I did. It was beautiful. I just wanted to make sure she was okay because, you know, it’s a lot of attention. And she is A-Okay.”
Ariana has also had her say on her viral moment, in a pre-recorded interview with Radio 2 Breakfast Show host Zoe Ball.
Revealing she had been asked to perform by Bafta, she said: “That was the assignment, like come celebrate women, and I was like ‘absolutely!’. And we did that and it was fun, not going to lie, I had a blast. So awesome.”
Ariana concluded: “Apparently gay Twitter seemed to like it. So that’s good… I’ll take it!”