AND THE OSCAR GOES TO...

Angela Bassett Says She Deserved Oscar Jamie Lee Curtis Won

Bassett previously shared that she was “gobsmacked” when Curtis won the award over her.

Angela Bassett addresses her 2023 Oscar loss in a way she hasn’t before in a new interview with Town & Country. When Jamie Lee Curtis took home the Best Supporting Actress award for Everything Everywhere All At Once over Bassett for Black Panther 2 that year, the internet erupted in fury on Bassett’s behalf. The camera at that year’s ceremony was determined to capture Bassett’s reaction as Curtis’ name was called and her understandably disappointed expression was picked apart online in the aftermath. It’s “interesting that I wouldn’t be allowed to be disappointed at an outcome where I thought I was deserving,” Bassett told the magazine. “I love applauding people,” she continued, but because she “put in the time, put in good work over time,” she didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given.” Bassett was last nominated by the Academy in the 1993 category Best Actress, for her work as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It. Last January, Bassett received an honorary Oscar—which some saw as an attempt to quell the public outcry over her 2023 loss.