Angela Bassett Says She Was ‘Gobsmacked’ Over Losing Oscar to Jamie Lee Curtis

During a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, the actress shared her thoughts on losing the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to Jamie Lee Curtis at the 2023 Academy Awards, and addressed her viral reaction to Curtis being announced as the winner.

Bassett, 65, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, while Curtis won for her performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Many viewers were shocked, including Winfrey, with Bassett admitting that she was surprised over the loss as well.

“I just knew your name was gonna be called,” Winfrey said, after referencing how Bassett was previously nominated for an Oscar in 1994 for What’s Love Got to Do with It, but she didn’t win. “And then, when they didn’t, I was beside myself! We were beside ourselves in our house.”

Bassett admitted with a laugh, “I was gobsmacked!”

“I thought I handled it very well, and that was my intention: to handle it very well,” she continued. “It was, of course, a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human, so … yes, I was disappointed, and I handled it like a human being.”

At the time, Bassett went viral on social media over her reaction to Curtis’ win. She appeared to be visibly disappointed, didn’t clap for her fellow nominee, and had a blank expression on her face.

Winfrey told the 9-1-1 star that she did not understand why the moment blew up on social media.

“I didn’t get the whole ‘Angela Bassett face,'” she said. “I thought, wow, you can see that [you] expected another thing, but you were still as gracious as a queen would be.”

“Absolutely. For myself and for my children, who were there with me, yes,” Bassett replied. “I know a pastor who says, ‘technology is different — people are the same.’ There are going to be these moments of disappointment that they are going to experience. But how do you handle yourself in the midst of them? We’re going to smile, we’re going to be gracious, we’re going to be kind, we’re going to party, anyway.”

At the 2023 Oscars, Bassett was nominated alongside Curtis, Hong Chau (The Whale), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), and Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once).

Although the Black Panther star ultimately didn’t win, Bassett still made history with her Oscar nomination alone. She became the first actor to receive a nom for a performance in a Marvel film.

Meanwhile, Bassett also won the 2023 Critics’ Choice Award and Golden Globe for her performance in the MCU sequel.

In addition, in January, she received an honorary Oscar at the 2023 Governor’s Awards.