‘9-1-1’s Angela Bassett Called Out Her Controversial Oscar Loss In Iconic Season 7 Premiere Scene

By Nicole Gallucci @nicolemichele5
Published March 15, 2024, 10:50 a.m. ET

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Angela Bassett did the thing…again!

In Ariana DeBose’s viral 2023 BAFTA rap, “Angela Bassett did the thing” referenced the actor’s stellar Oscar-nominated performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Bassett lost the Best Supporting Actor award to Jamie Lee Curtis, which admittedly left her “gobsmacked.” But in 9-1-1‘s highly-anticipated Season 7 premiere, Bassett got the green-light to cathartically call out the Oscars on primetime ABC.

The first three episodes of 9-1-1 Season 7 will show catastrophe unfolding on Athena (Bassett) and Bobby’s (Peter Krause) honeymoon cruise. Before the couple even stepped foot on the ship, however, Athena told her therapist she was petrified to set sail because the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure traumatized her as a kid. “Shelley Winters was even nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars that year,” Athena told the therapist. When he asked if Winters won, Bassett’s face visibly hardened, and in a pointed dig Athena replied, “No. She did not.”

“When I wrote that line, it just made me laugh so hard,” co-creator and Season 7 showrunner Tim Minear, who also worked with Bassett on American Horror Story, told TVLine. “I thought, ‘How is she gonna take this?’ She read it and ran over to her husband and went, ‘Look what Tim wrote!’ She’s got a sense of humor about herself, which is one of the things I love about her.”

Fans of 9-1-1, Black Panther, and Winters and Bassett were also quick to spot the hilarious shade and share their overwhelming approval online.

Months after Bassett lost the Best Supporting Actress award, the Academy gave her an honorary Oscar for her career achievements. As Decider’s Raven Brunner noted, however, “Despite this being, on the surface, a flattering move from the Academy, and a well-deserved award for the phenomenal Bassett, it actually paints the Academy as wildly indecisive.”

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PETER KRAUSE in black and white on a bright orange background

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In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Bassett opened up about her shocking Academy Awards loss, saying, “I thought I handled it very well. That was my intention, to handle it very well. It was, of course, a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human. So I thought, yes, I was disappointed and I handled it like a human being.”

“There are going to be these moments of disappointment that you’ll experience, but how do you handle yourself in the midst of them?” Bassett continued. “We’re going to smile, we’re going to be gracious, we’re going to be kind, we’re going to party anyway.”

While she may not have won the Oscar for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, she gave a memorable, moving performance that she and fans know was worthy of recognition. Bassett continues to find success on screen in 9-1-1 Season 7, and it’s refreshing to see her and the show boldly call out the upset with such humor.

New episodes of 9-1-1 premiere on ABC Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. with next-day streaming on Hulu.