Angela Bassett speaks on Oscars snub, ‘understood’ Austin Butler loss

Angela Bassett is opening up about her snub at the 2023 Oscars.

Bassett, 64, wrote about the moment she shared with Austin Butler in his write-up for the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2023 series, saying that she “understood intimately” how he was feeling in the moment.

Bassett and Butler both failed to win Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony, and a touching video of the two holding hands went viral.

“On the evening of the Oscars, with Austin seated next to me, I understood intimately what he felt when it was time to learn if he would climb those stairs to the stage,” Bassett wrote in the Time 100 piece. “So, I took his hand and held it softly as the winner was announced. Although his name wasn’t called, Austin is no less a winner.”

She continued, “The time had come for Austin to say goodbye to ‘Elvis’ as he began to embrace an infinite universe of possibilities as an actor. I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.”

Bassett was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which she lost to Jamie Lee Curtis, 64, for her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

Meanwhile, Butler was nominated for Best Actor for his role as the king of rock ‘n’ roll in the Baz Luhrmann biopic, “Elvis,” but he lost to Brendan Fraser (“The Whale“).

When it was announced that Curtis won, Bassett seemed less than thrilled — and, as seen in ABC’s telecast, seemingly didn’t stand up to clap while seated in the front row.

Some Twitter users were disappointed to see the “Black Panther” star sit through the applause for Curtis while others were just disappointed Bassett didn’t win.

Although Curtis won best supporting actress at the SAG Awards last week, Bassett snagged the Golden Globe for supporting actress and many thought she would get the Oscars nod as well.

Bassett was the first person to be nominated for an Oscar from a Marvel movie.

After her loss, Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors took the stage to hand out the award for best cinematography and honored Bassett with a quick shoutout.

“Hey Auntie,” Jordan said, which was a reference to 2018’s “Black Panther.”

“We love you,” Majors added.

Earlier in the night of the Oscars, Bassett, who was first nominated for an Oscar in 1994 for “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” told Entertainment Tonight that she was “feeling pretty good.”

Wearing a purple Moschino gown, Bassett was joined by her husband, Courtney B. Vance, and their 17-year-old twins, Bronwyn and Slater, who said they hoped their mom won.

“I just I think it’s long overdue and I really want to see her be honored the way that I know she should be,” Slater said. “And so this will mean a lot to me, and I know it’ll mean even more to her, so, I’m waiting and I’m ready for it.”

Curtis’ win marked her first-ever Academy Award, and she thanked everyone who got her to where she is in her speech.

“I know it looks like I am standing up here by myself, but I am not. I am hundreds of people,” the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star said. “My bae Michelle (Yeoh), Ke (Huy Quan), Stephanie (Hsu) – the entire group of artists who made this movie – we just won an Oscar.”

“To all of the people who have supported the genre movies that I have made for all of these years, the thousands and hundreds of thousands of people, we just won an Oscar together,” she added.

Curtis also thanked her late parents, actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. Her mother was nominated in the same category and her father was once nominated for best actor.

“My mother and my father were both nominated for Oscars in different categories,” Curtis said as she looked upward and teared up. “I just won an Oscar.”