Ariana DeBose Pokes Fun at Her Viral Rap at SAG Awards 2023

Ariana DeBose is the woman king of owning her musical number.

The actress, who recently went viral for rapping about a few of the female nominees during a performance at the 2023 BAFTA Film Awards, poked fun at the musical moment while taking the stage with her fellow presenter Diego Luna at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Feb. 26. 

After praising the "remarkable work" given by those nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series category, Ariana quipped as she shimmied her shoulders, "Diego, do the thing."

The callback drew a laugh from stars in the crowd, including Angela Bassett—who was previously mentioned in Ariana's rap. Jennifer Coolidge was then announced as the winner for her performance in The White Lotus, beating out The Crown's Elizabeth Debicki, Euphoria's Zendaya and Ozark's Julia Garner and Laura Linney. (See all the 2023 SAG Award winners here.)

The ceremony marks Ariana's first appearance since performing her rhymes at the BAFTAs on Feb. 19. Her rap featured the lyrics, "Angela Bassett did the thing / Viola Davis, my Woman King / Blanchett, Cate— you're a genius / Jamie Lee, you are all of us."

While the tune received praise, it was also met by criticism from some social media users. In response to the negativity, one of the awards show's producer's spoke out in defense of the West Side Story actress. 

"I think it's incredibly unfair, to be frank," BAFTA producer Nick Bullen told Variety Feb. 20. "I absolutely loved it. Everybody I've spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She's a huge star, she was amazing."

As for why the producer believes the performance was faced with such negativity? He chalked it up to people's views of what the BAFTAS should be.

"I think a lot of people don't like change, and there's a view that the BAFTAs have to be this slightly stiff, traditional British, middle-England messaging," he told the outlet. "But American awards shows have much more razzmatazz, much more showbiz, and perhaps a broader range of people being involved. We felt we're not about revolution, we're about evolution." 

Nick isn't the only one to have spoken out since Ariana took the stage. A few days later, Ariana herself addressed the matter, noting she wanted to celebrate women with her performance. 

"That's what I wanted to do," DeBose said on BBC Radio 2's The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, as seen in an excerpt released on TikTok Feb. 25. "It's not like I was like, 'Hey BAFTA, let me in!' They actually called me, believe it or not. That was the assignment, like, 'Come celebrate women.' I was like, 'Absolutely!' And we did that, and it was fun." 

Reflecting on her time overall the BAFTAs, Ariana said, "Not gonna lie. I had a blast."

After seeing her own the night with some comedy, it's clear the SAG Awards will be no different for Ariana. Keep scrolling to see more stars at the 2023 SAG Awards.

In Giambattista Valli Couture with De Beers jewelry and Sarah Flint shoes

In Zuhair Murad

In Atelier Versace with Tiffany & Co. jewelry

In Prabal Gurung with Melinda Maria and Effy jewelry

In Valentino

In Oscar de la Renta with Bvlgari jewelry

In Valentino with Bvlgari jewelry 

In Staud with De Beers jewelry

In Saint Laurent

In Simone Rocha with Paul Smith boots

In Roland Mouret

In Giorgio Armani

In Armani Privé

Seth in Fendi; Lauren in Emilia Wickstead

In Louis Vuitton with Vacheron Constantin jewelry 

In Dolce & Gabbana

In Tarik Ediz 

In Louis Vuitton

In Schiaparelli Couture with Moussaieff jewelry 

In Prada

Christina in Christian Siriano 

In Michael Kors with Mouawad jewelry 

In Louis Vuitton

In Alexander McQueen

Jason in Dolce & Gabbana 

In ZEGNA

In Christian Dior Couture with Fernando Jorge jewelry