my woman king

In defense of Ariana Debose’s BAFTAs rap: “This is a camp cultural artifact”

By · 9 comments
Ariana Debose and her dancers performing at the 2023 BAFTAs. Ariana is in hot magenta while the dancers are in black.
Photo via Getty Images

Love it or hate it, one thing is certain: Ariana Debose did the thing.

The West Side Story star made LGBTQ+ history just last year when she became the first openly queer woman of color to win an Oscar for acting. This year, she’s made LGBTQ+ history at another awards show — this time, for a much different reason.

Debose opened the 2023 BAFTA awards with a high energy medley, combining “Women Are Doing It For Themselves”, “We Are Family,” and an original rap penned by her and her team honoring the many female nominees of the night.

The number wasn’t unprecedented; performances like Neil Patrick Harris opening the Oscars or Shangela at the Indie Spirit Awards have gone viral before and gotten plenty of applause. However, it’s taken the gay council quite some time to decide how to feel about this most recent opener.

The full performance is a whirlwind complete with chairography, a tearaway piece, and some mostly successful transitions. However, the high-flying vocals on the intro part leave Debose woefully out of breath going into the very daring rap portion.

A “Vogue”-esque section praising “the ladies in the room, supporting and leading” has stormed the community. The singer lists off each nominee with cute quips like “Dame Emma, I’m so fond” and “Ana, girl, you were great in Blonde.”

By the time we reach “Angela Bassett did the thing,” it gets just a little messy:

Related:

Queer actress Ariana DeBose just made history

“Whatever firsts are attached to my name…the fact that if I’m the first of anything that means I won’t be the last.”

The response by viewers of the ceremony was apparently quick and decisive. The performance was Sunday night, and by Monday morning, Debose had deleted her Twitter account to escape negative comments.

Nick Bullen, the producer of the BAFTAs, said that the backlash was due to “stiff, traditional British, middle-England” attitudes and applauded the co-host for contributing traits he admires from American awards shows, such as “much more razzmatazz, much more showbiz, and perhaps a broader range of people being involved.”

Since Debose’s self-imposed deplatforming, the general attitude towards the performance has shifted drastically from cringing to celebrating the daring, messy, over-the-top zealous nature of it.

In just a couple of days, the Gay Twitter™ council has deemed the number to be good, campy fun:

Related:

Why do we love Ariana DeBose? Let us count the reasons…

If there is anyone who embodies celebrating who you are, it’s Ariana DeBose. 

This entire journey is reminding some folks online of a comedic plotline from a much-beloved sitcom that reaches the same peaceful conclusion.

In the LGBTQ+ comedy The Other Two on HBO, a hilarious storyline revolves around a gay-centric music video being torn apart online by users who say things like “It’s no Moonlight.” The criticism is only ended when Real Housewives star Countess Luann posts an emotional reaction to the video online, pushing the entire situation into golden territory.

As Wanda Sykes‘ character says, “Our video is officially camp!”:

Don't forget to share:

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated