Michael B. Jordan took a moment to give a special shout-out to his Black Panther co-star Angela Bassett at the 95th Academy Awards… after she lost the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Bassett, 64, was nominated for her second Oscar in her storied career for portraying Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, though she lost out to Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Jordan, 36, and his Creed III co-star Jonathan Majors, 33, took to the Oscar stage to present the award for Best Cinematography, but before they did so, they gave a short but sweet shout-out to Bassett.
As Jordan and Majors got to the mic, Jordan looked towards Bassett and said, ‘Hey Auntie,’ as Majors looked at her and said, ‘We love you.’
Jordan played Erik Killmonger in both 2018’s Black Panther and 2022’s Black Panther: Wakonda Forever, the nephew of Bassett’s Queen Ramonda.
Bassett had previously won the Golden Globe, Critics Choice Award, Hollywood Critics Association and NAACP Image Award for her performance as Queen Ramonda.
She was previously nominated for her powerful performance as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It, though she lost to Holly Hunter for her performance in The Piano.
The actress was considered a favorite by many to win her first Oscar for Wakanda Forever, though Jamie Lee Curtis ultimately won for her portrayal of Deirdre Beaubeirdre in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Bassett still made Oscar history by becoming the first actor or actress from a Marvel movie to be nominated for an acting Oscar.
She also made headlines in a much different way a few weeks ago, when she was mentioned in Ariana DeBose’s bizarre song at the BAFTA Awards where she said, ‘Angela Bassett did the thing.’
Bassett herself referenced the strange rap when she accepted her NAACP Image Award for playing Queen Ramonda, joking, ‘Yeah! I guess Angela Bassett did the thing!’
The actress also revealed at the NAACP Image Awards that she actually reached out to DeBose after her song went viral.
‘I DM’d her last night. I just wanted to make sure she was okay because, you know, it’s a lot of attention. And she is A-Okay.’
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star also said that she thought the moment was ‘beautiful’.
Ariana recently issued her first public statement regarding what has quickly gone down as arguably the most embarrassing opening performance in 76-years of rich and varied BAFTA history.
Bassett also offered some advice to her fellow Golden Globe winner Austin Butler, who made headlines for keeping his Elvis accent during his speech.
The 31-year-old actor was asked about the accent immediately in the press room after his big Golden Globe win, but he claimed, ‘I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I haven’t noticed ’cause I hear it a lot.’
If anyone could understand this particular predicament it’s the 64-year-old Bassett, who also received her first Oscar nomination for a critically-acclaimed biopic, playing Tina Turner in the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do With It.
The actress – nominated this year for her turn as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – spoke with The New Yorker, and was asked about Butler’s situation.
When asked if the character still ‘took over’ her after filming, she admitted, ‘It absolutely did.’
‘Tina’s laugh and the way she spoke took over,’ Bassett admitted, but said it didn’t last as long as Butler.