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Angela Bassett has spoken out about her Oscar loss for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, recalling the discussion that ensued surrounding Bassett’s viral reaction after Jamie Lee Curtis took home the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
“I found it interesting,“ Bassett told Town & Country magazine in an interview published Thursday. “Interesting that I wouldn’t be allowed to be disappointed at an outcome where I thought I was deserving.”
Bassett told the publication that she “loves applauding people, but in that moment…” she’d felt she earned recognition. “I have put in: put in the time, put in good work over time,” Bassett said. “I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given.”
It’s not the first time Bassett has spoken out about the Oscar snub. In an interview with Oprah last year, Bassett said she was “gobsmacked” over the loss. “I thought I handled it very well,” she said. “It was, of course, a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human.”
Wakanda Forever didn’t get quite the same level of critical acclaim as the original Black Panther, but Bassett was lauded for her performance of a mourning Queen Ramonda, helping deliver an emotional sendoff for Chadwick Boseman and his leading man T’Challa role.
Bassett’s 2023 nomination for Best Supporting Actress came nearly 30 years after she was nominated for Best Actress for What’s Love Got To Do With It. Last year, she was bestowed an honorary Oscar. Forest Whitaker, who directed the Bassett-fronted film Waiting to Exhale in 1995 and co-starred in Black Panther with Bassett in 2018, lauded her in the Town & Country profile as well.
“I thought she deserved the Academy Award forWhat’s Love Got to Do with It, her performance was so strong,” he said. “Hopefully she’ll be acknowledged in every way, whether that’s Cannes or Berlin or anywhere around the world.”
