Ariana DeBose and Bella Ramsey shared a hug at the 2023 Emmys, appearing to put a harsh Critics Choice Awards joke aimed at DeBose behind them.
Oscar winner DeBose and “The Last of Us” actor Ramsey could be seen hugging at the ceremony inside the Peacock Theater on Monday night during a commercial break, according to a photo of the moment posted by pop culture writer Evan Ross Katz.
Last night at the Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica, Ramsey and Anthony Ramos presented the song award. Before presenting the award to the “Barbie” song “I'm Just Ken,” Ramsey read a joke on a teleprompter about “actors who also think they're singers,” a list that included Jack Black, Ryan Gosling and, interestingly enough, Tony-winning singer and actor DeBose. The latter also won an Oscar for supporting actress (the first queer person of color to win an Academy Award for acting) for her performance in the 2021 musical film “West Side Story.”
After Ramsey read the joke to laughter and applause, the cameras focused on DeBose, who was sitting with a mocking expression on her face.
“No, I didn't find it funny. Hahaha,” DeBose shared after the awards show on his Instagram Story. And Jamie Lee Curtis backed her up in her since-deleted Instagram post, according to multiple reports, showing Ramsey's joke and a montage of DeBose's musical theater skills with the caption: “Are you kidding me? Ariana DeBose is a queen,” with the hashtags “#backthef—off” and “shutthef—up.”
Critics Choice writers were likely behind the prank and were possibly poking fun at DeBose's divisive performance last year at the BAFTAs, which sparked online mockery that ultimately got the actor banned from X, formerly Twitter. Still, Ramsey came under fire for her delivery, as some online blamed her for showing poor form.
At the Emmys, during which Ramsey was nominated for lead actor in a drama series, his acceptance of DeBose seemed to indicate that there is no ill will between the two queer icons, much to the delight of their fans.
“I still can't believe people attacked Bella who was literally reading a line they were given,” one user wrote in the comments under Katz's photo of the couple. “As if it's not her fault, it's the writer's fault.”
Another user wrote: “Two powerful queer people who don't let anything come between them.”
