Jamie Lee Curtis has passionately stood up for Ariana DeBose after a joke was made at the Hamilton star's expense during Sunday night's Critics Choice Awards.
In a surprising turn of events at this year's Critics Choice Awards, actor Bella Ramsey - best known for their role in The Last of Us - made a questionable joke during her presentation that caught the attention of the audience and stirred controversy. Ramsey, 20, took the stage with actor Anthony Ramos to present the award for Best Song, where one of their jokes raised a few eyebrows.
As Ramsey listed the famous voices nominated in the category, they included Billie Eilish, Lenny Kravitz, and Dua Lipa.
However, it was their next remark that garnered attention. Ramsey stated: "And there are the actors who also think that they're singers: Jack Black, Ariana DeBose, Ryan Gosling." Check out the uncomfortable moment below:
The camera cut to Ariana DeBose as her name was mentioned, and her expression appeared confused in response to the comment.
Taking to Instagram after the ceremony, DeBose appeared to express her lack of amusement at Ramsey's joke, writing in an IG Story: "No, I didn't find it funny. LOL."
Many viewers also hit out at Ramsey - and, perhaps more accurately, whoever wrote the joke - for making the gag.
"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," one person wrote.
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."
The situation then took a surprising turn when veteran actress Jamie Lee Curtis stepped in to defend DeBose. Curtis posted a now-deleted video on her Instagram account, featuring Ramsey's joke from the awards show, cut with clips of DeBose showcasing her impressive vocal talents during live performances.
"ARE YOU F*ING KIDDING ME! @arianadebose IS A QUEEN!" Curtis passionately captioned the post, per News.com.au, along with the hashtags " #backthefkoff #shutthef**kup."
However, Curtis' spirited defense of DeBose received mixed reactions, with some criticizing her for taking such a strong stance against young actor Bella Ramsey, who was likely reading a scripted joke provided for them.
"Bella is 20, reading off of a teleprompter like they were probably told. These hashtags...act your age, honey," one person wrote.
"I adore you but we know Bella was just reading what was written for them," another person pointed out.
"Please be mad at the writers! You know damn well Bella didn't come up with that," another comment read.
Despite the initial controversy, it appears that DeBose and Ramsey were able to reconcile at Tuesday night's Emmy Awards, where they were seen hugging it out.
This is not the first time Curtis has come to DeBose's defense.
Last year, the Westside Story star was memed mercilessly after she opened the BAFTAs with a rap that name-dropped several of the evening's nominees - including Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett, Emma Thompson, Ana De Armas, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Many netizens caught onto one line DeBose said in her rap, in which she stated: "Angela Bassett did the thing." The backlash was so intense, that DeBose deleted her X account just two days later.
Then, in a subsequent interview, Curtis shared her thoughts on the rap, saying: "I'm unclear as to what the f*** people are on about, and for me it was joyous, celebratory, sisterly, hot, spicy, and she's just so incredibly talented.
"I don't know what - the only thing I know is that it was shocking to me. It's in a theater. It's not at tables, and so you're in a theater, and so if you're looking this way and there's the stage and you're watching her on stage, these camera people literally came, and they would be here."
.jpg_ptk2zb?tr=h-184)
