Tems Shrugs Off Criticism of 'View-Blocking' Oscars Dress

On Sunday, the Best Original Song Nominee closed out awards season in the most stylish way possible by donning a large white dress by Ukrainian American label Lever Couture. Inspired by the shape of a blooming flower, the dramatic look featured a voluminous, cloud-like halo that instantly became a huge talking point on the internet — some good and some bad.

Despite a number of people complimenting the "ethereal look," there were also plenty of critics who said her decision to wear the "view-blocking" dress meant the people seated behind her were having a tough time seeing the stage.

"Imagine waiting your whole life to be at the Oscars and you end up sitting behind a stratus cloud,” a Twitter user wrote, while another called the Nigerian singer "extremely rude and inconsiderate."

extremely rude and inconsiderate 👎

— stevemur (@stevemur) March 13, 2023

However, Tems also had a fair share of defenders, many of whom pointed out that the Academy Awards had shut out two critically acclaimed films by Black women from the nominee pool, with one person writing that it was "kinda ironic that everyone is giving her shit for making it hard for ppl behind her to see on a night where a Black woman was overlooked in a phenomenal performance."

"So yes, take up the space the refuse to give us," they continued in their support of Tems, who was nominated for the song "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveralongside Rihanna.

Meanwhile, some fans alluded to the criticism being a byproduct of misogynoir, including someone who argued that fellow Best Original Song nominee Lady Gaga has also worn view-blocking statement pieces to past awards shows, which "you didn’t care [about] because…well we all know why."

I actually LOVE that Tems wore that. It’s kinda ironic that everyone is giving her shit for making it hard for ppl behind her to see on a night where a Black woman was overlooked in a phenomenal performance. So yes, take up the space the refuse to give us.

— Kayla Marie @ home (@MariaGiesela) March 13, 2023

Imagine Gaga did the same thing and you didn’t care because…well we all know why. 🤡 pic.twitter.com/5l5JQYgOGT

— GhostWridah (@GhostWridah) March 13, 2023

That said, Tems has now addressed the buzz surrounding her divisive dress in a new Instagram slideshow featuring photos of herself modeling the look. And her caption? A simple "oops," which makes it clear that the Grammy winner could care less about the haters' opinions.

You can check out Tems' Instagram post about the dress debate below.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by TEMS 🕊 (@temsbaby)

Photo via Getty / Emma McIntyre