We know Ariana DeBose is out there somewhere thinking, “I ain’t never had this much press in my career.” The actress, who recently deactivated her Twitter account after being roasted for what some called a “cringe-worthy” rap performance at the BAFTAs on Sunday, is now sparking up yet another conversation after footage of her rehearsing for the show was shared on social media.
While some people initially thought that the 32-year-old may have been overcome with nerves when she gave her rap performance in front of her A-list colleagues, the rehearsal clip, which was posted on TikTok, shows her rapping the song in the exact same way she did during the live taping of the awards ceremony in the UK.
Shared by Broadway music director Benjamin Rauhala, DeBose appears to be in good spirits as she joyfully practices what seemed to be her favorite line: “Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis… my woman king!” And, of course, Twitter was sure to react to the rehearsal clip making its rounds online — and people can’t seem to believe DeBose actually rehearsed for the now-viral performance.
“It was an honor to give love to all of these iconic women, and to get the party started! We are giggling at everyone who has our campy little number stuck in their heads,” Rauhala captioned his TikTok video showing DeBose getting ready backstage as she went over her lines a few more times.
But not everyone felt as positive as him, with one Twitter user writing, “so she PLANNED to say it like that…amazing,” accompanied with a shady Nene Leakes gif,” while another joked, “she really rehearsed it and thought “yes this is it.’”
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A third Twitter user seemed just as amused by the new footage by adding multiple laughing emojis with the tweet, “Everyone’s trying to do her makeup and costuming, and she’s like, ‘but I gotta show you all my cool rap that’s gonna blow everyone away tonight.’”
As we reported earlier this week, the heavy criticism DeBose received for her rap performance subsequently led her to deactivate her Twitter account. As of writing, she has not reinstated her profile, and given that she continues to be a trending topic on the social platform, it’s more than likely she probably won’t be returning anytime soon.