Viewers have criticized Bella Ramsey after dubbing Ariana DeBose as an actress "who thinks they can sing" at the Critics' Choice Awards.
The 29th annual award ceremony took place on Sunday (January 14) at the Barker Hangar, and it proved to be a memorable night for many of the stars in attendance.
The prestigious event saw success for Greta Gerwig's box office hit Barbie, which picked up six awards including Best Comedy, best-original Screenplay, and Best Original Song for Mark Ronson's 'I'm Just Ken' - sung by Ryan Gosling.
It was also a remarkable evening for Oppenheimer, which won Best Picture, with Robert Downey Jr picking up the award for Best Supporting Actor, and filmmaker Christopher Nolan triumphing in the Best Director category.
One of the highlights of the event was nominee Ariana DeBose's unimpressed reaction to presenters Bella Ramsey and Anthony Ramos's diss just before the winner of the Best Song category was announced.
The 32-year-old actress was nominated for the Julia Michaels-penned 'This Wish' track from Disney’s Wish, alongside Barbie's 'Dance The Night', 'I’m Just Ken' and 'What Was I Made For,' The Super Mario Bros. Movie song 'Peaches,' sung by Jack Black and Lenny Kravitz’s 'Road to Freedom' from Rustin.
However, she was surprised to find herself the butt of a joke when The Last of Us actor quipped that the songs nominated in the category were performed "by some of the most famous voices in the music industry".
Reading from the teleprompter, Ramos namechecked Billie Eilish, Lenny Kravitz, and Dua Lipa - which then led to the 20-year-old referring to the remaining nominees, including DeBose, Black, and Gosling, as "actors who also think that they are singers".
The actress, who won an Academy Award for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg's musical West Side Story (2021), was clearly confused by the quip and even displayed an icy expression before laughing it off.
Watch the moment below:Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) were also taken aback as DeBose is not only known for starring in Broadway musicals but is also a Tony-nominated actress, so she can very clearly sing well.
One user criticized Ramsey, writing: "Bella… Ariana DeBose is an Academy Award-winning, Tony-nominated Actress and you have the audacity to say she’s an actress 'who thinks they can sing'?! Oh that’s not how you present a category or talk about people live on television."
Another chimed in: "Bella making a joke about actors who think they can sing and naming ARIANA DEBOSE… Ariana get behind me NOW," while a third shared: "This is so unfunny…like Ariana Debose is one of the few triple threats in the industry. Bella, you could have turned this joke down."
A fourth pointed out the look of disapproval DeBose "made when Bella Ramsey mentioned the 'actors who think they’re singers,'" saying that "the look on her face really said it all".
Meanwhile, some users placed the blame on other writers as one questioned: "Ariana DeBose, Oscar award-winning, Tony-nominated, OG cast member of Hamilton on BROADWAY…. 'THINKS she’s a singer'?!? Who wrote this bit?! I want names."
Someone else condemned the way they "insulted Ariana DeBose" for calling her an "actress who thinks she can sing," adding: "Girl. GIRL!!!!! I’m sorry, you said that about someone from the OG cast of Hamilton? Google someone before you approve the joke omg."
One last user said they "won’t blame young Bella, the presenter," for the joke, and instead turned their attention to the person responsible, stating: "But how DARE a writer for the intro label Ariana, a Broadway triple threat, with the smarmy category of 'actors who think they can sing.' Get a clue. Fact check. Apologize. Change your job."
While DeBose didn't specifically reference the moment or mention any names, she took to her Instagram Story to seemingly react to the joke.
"No, I didn't find it funny. Lol," she penned to her 712K followers.
Yikes.
