Angela Bassett told Town & Country magazine that she was “deserving” of the best supporting actress Oscar for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Bassett was nominated in 2023 but lost to Jamie Lee Curtis for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which swept most of the Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor.
Her stoic reaction as Curtis’ name was called went viral on social media.
“I love applauding people,” she added. “But in that moment … No, I have put in: put in the time, put in good work overtime. I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given.”
Bassett earned critical acclaim for her performance as Queen Ramonda in the “Black Panther” sequel, which made her the first actor be Oscar nominated from a Marvel movie. Prior to the Academy Awards, Bassett picked up supporting actress wins at the Critics’ Choice Award.
But the race remained somewhat opened after Curtis won the SAG Award; Curtis prevailed at the Oscars.
“I was gobsmacked! I was,” Basset told Oprah about losing the Oscar. “I thought I handled it very well. That was my intention, to handle it very well. It was a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human. So I thought, yes, I was disappointed, and I handled it like a human being.”
Bassett said at the time that handling the Oscar loss with grace was of the utmost importance “for myself and for my children who were there with me.”
“There are going to be these moments of disappointment that you’ll experience, but how do you handle yourself in the midst of them?” she added. “We’re going to smile, we’re going to be gracious, we’re going to be kind, we’re going to party anyway.”
Prior to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Bassett had been nominated for the lead actress Oscar in 1994 for portraying Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It. However, Holly Hunter won the Oscar that year for The Piano.
After her 2023 loss, Bassett was named a recipient of an Honorary Oscar in 2024.
