It broke the hearts of many after Angela Bassett was snubbed a second time for what would’ve been her first Oscar award.
Fans were even more hurt to see the visibly disappointed look on her face after losing the award, but she is choosing to take the high road.
In response to the disappointing outcome, Bassett lent some advice to Time magazine regarding awards and worth. She said, “We can’t define ourselves based on awards when there’s one award granted and many, many, many people who are worthy of it.”
On the evening of March 12, the seasoned actress sat anxiously next to her husband Courtney B. Vance, waiting to hear the winner of the Best Supporting Actress category.
She was nominated for her role as Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” up against Hong Chau for “The Whale,” Kerry Condon for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Stephanie Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis for their roles in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Ultimately, Curtis ended up taking home the win, which caused quite an uproar on social media as this was not the first time that many felt like Bassett was “robbed” of winning an Oscar award.
Three decades ago, she was up for her first Oscar award as Best Actress for the 1993 Tina Turner biopic “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” Bassett’s portrayal of the fiery singer is arguably one of her best roles to date. She mimicked everything about Turner down to her arm movements when she danced, to the unique mouth curls when she sang and spoke.
In fact, many viewers have joked that they thought Bassett was the real Tina Turner for years. But that night at the 1994 Oscars, the award was given to Holly Hunter, star of the film “The Piano.”
Bassett has played the lead in dozens of movies since but was only nominated for those two films at the Oscars. She feels the Academy also missed the mark on the other notable roles she’s played over the years and “slept on all of them between 93’ and 2023!”
The 64-year-old said, “You never know what’s going to grab the energy, what role is going to catch the energy of the academy. But you don’t accept the roles, the work, the creativity based on that, but based on what stories you want to tell the world.”
Nonetheless, Bassett’s talents have been properly recognized elsewhere. She won a few awards for her iconic “Wakanda Forever” performance, including a Golden Globe in January — 29 years after she won her first Golden Globe for her portrayal of Tina Turner. The Hollywood icon has also earned a few NAACP Awards, Critic’s Choice Awards, and others.
