Jamie Lee Curtis Weighs in on Ariana DeBose's BAFTA Rap

Speaking to a Deadline interviewer at the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday, the 64-year-old Everything Everywhere All At Once star said, "I'm unclear as to what the fuck people are on about, and for me it was joyous, celebratory, sisterly, hot, spicy — and she's just so incredibly talented."

Related | Ariana DeBose's BAFTA Rap Performance is Going Viral

The actress goes on to explain that none of the women name-checked by DeBose during the performance knew that they were going to be mentioned — or have their reactions televised. Closing our her statement, Curtis added, "She is a fantastic talent. These people should shut the fuck up, back the fuck off, and let this woman just shine her light."

Opening for the BAFTAs on February 20, DeBose performed an original rap verse meant to celebrate the accomplishments of women in entertainment, A clip of DeBose breathlessly shouting out icons like Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, and Curtis — while the camera zoomed in for their reactions — quickly went viral on Twitter, with some publications slamming her performance as "cringe."

DeBose broke her silence on the performance on Saturday. Speaking to BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show," she said the performance was lots of fun and that "gay Twitter seemed to love it." Indeed, much of the reaction on social media was humorous, with DeBose's Angela Bassett pronunciation even being transformed into a dance music edit.

Photo via Michael Tran / AFP / Getty Images