In 2023, it seemed a given that Angela Bassett would win the "Best Actress" Oscar for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Instead, the award went to Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The decision baffled movie lovers, with the prevailing theory being that the Academy didn't take Bassett's performance seriously because it was in a VFX-laden comic book movie produced by Marvel Studios.
Talking to Town & Country Magazine, the actor recalled her stoic reaction to Curtis' win going viral on social media and addressed both the loss and online commentary that followed.
"I found it interesting," she said. "Interesting that I wouldn’t be allowed to be disappointed at an outcome where I thought I was deserving. I love applauding people. But in that moment ... No, I have put in: put in the time, put in good work over time. I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given."
Bassett was deserving and, honestly, it should have been a given following her powerful, moving performance in the Black Panther sequel. Acknowledging that an actor in a Marvel blockbuster delivered an award-worthy turn may have been a step too far for the snobbish Academy, of course.
Talking to Oprah last year about losing the Oscar, Bassett said, "I was gobsmacked! I was. I thought I handled it very well. That was my intention, to handle it very well. It was, of course, a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human. So I thought, yes, I was disappointed and I handled it like a human being."
She added that handling the loss with grace was important "for myself and for my children who were there with me."
"There are going to be these moments of disappointment that you’ll experience, but how do you handle yourself in the midst of them?" Bassett continued. "We’re going to smile, we’re going to be gracious, we’re going to be kind, we’re going to party anyway."
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star received an Honorary Oscar last year for her contributions to the film industry. We aren't expecting Bassett to return as Ramonda in Black Panther 3, but it's possible she'll appear in the Ancestral Plane.
That movie doesn't have a confirmed release date but is officially in the works with Ryan Coogler set to direct and Denzel Washington attached to star.
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