Ariana DeBose pokes fun at viral BAFTAs rap while presenting at SAG Awards: ‘Do the thing’

DeBose stood alongside actor Diego Luna to present the award for Female Actor in a Drama Series

Ariana DeBose poked fun at her viral BAFTAs rap, while appearing on stage at this year’s SAG Awards.

During Sunday’s awards ceremony, DeBose stood alongside actor Diego Luna to present the award for Female Actor in a Drama Series. Before naming Jennifer Coolidge as the winner for her role in The White Lotus, the West Side Story star turned to Luna and referred to her viral rap, in which she praised Angela Bassett for doing “the thing”.

“Diego, do the thing,” she said to the microphone, before pointing at him. She then struck a pose and smiled, to replicate the signature dance move that she did during her BAFTAs performance. In response, Luna nodded and said “OK.”

While sitting in the audience, Bassett responded to DeBose’s move, as she laughed and blew a kiss to the SAG Awards presenter.

DeBose opened the Baftas with a rendition of Eurythmics’s 1985 hit track “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves”.

Halfway through the song, DeBose broke into rap, name-checking the female nominees in the audience with the lines: “Angela Bassett did the thing. Viola Davis, my Woman King. Blanchett Cate, you’re a genius. Jamie Lee [Curtis], you are all of us.”

As her song instantly made headlines, DeBose responded to some of the critical feedback she’s received for it. During a recent interview with BBC Radio 2‘s Zoe Ball, she expressed how much she enjoyed doing her performance and highlighted what the purpose of the song was.

“But that was the assignment. Like, ‘Come celebrate women,’ and I was like, ‘Absolutely!’ We did that and it was fun. Not gonna lie. I had a blast,” she said.

Over the weekend, Bassett poked fun at her mention in the tune. As she arrived at the red carpet of the SAG Awards on, she was asked about her viral shoutout to the rap, while giving an acceptance speech at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday.

“I guess Angela Bassett did the thing!” Bassett said during Saturday’s Awards.

After confessing that she “couldn’t help herself” when doing the shoutout, People asked her if she was going to “do the thing tonight”, at the SAG Awards. In response, she said: “I don’t know…I mean, two times is okay. I’m going to do something.”

During Saturday’s awards, Bassett also revealed that she’d reached out to DeBose after the viral rap to check in and make sure she was alright.

“I DMed her last night. I did,” Bassett told Variety on the NAACP Image Awards red carpet. “It was beautiful ... I just wanted to make sure she was okay... because it’s a lot of attention. And she is A-okay.”

Following the performance, DeBose deactivated her Twitter account as the rap became the subject of online ridicule, leading fans to believe she was upset by the reaction.