Ariana DeBose is opening up about her show-opening musical collection at the 2023 BAFTA Awards.

During an interview on BBC Radio 2’s The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, the Oscar-winning vocalist and starlet spoke up for the very first time since receiving backlash on social networks after carrying out an initial rap in honor of the female candidates at the Feb. 19 awards display in London.

Host Zoe Ball opened the discussion by applauding DeBose’s efficiency, which blended a high-energy collection of Eurythmics‘ “Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves” and Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” with a rap number that named-checked popular starlets like Angela Bassett, Viola Davis and Jamie Lee Curtis.

“You know what, you might be one of the few,” the West Side Story movie reboot starlet reacted in a video of the interview, which was shared through TikTok on Saturday (Feb. 25). “I’ll take it, because you’re my people.”

The radio program host included, “It was a woman, singing and dancing, being magnificent, celebrating women onstage. Come on!” DeBose concurred, stating, “That’s what I wanted to do.”

“Honestly, it’s not like I’m like, ‘Hey BAFTA, let me in!’ They actually called me, believe it or not,” the actress-singer continued. “But that was the assignment. Like, ‘Come celebrate women,’ and I was like, ‘Absolutely!’ We did that and it was fun. Not gonna lie, I had a blast.”

DeBose went on to state that Elvis director Baz Luhrmann discovered her after the program and offered her favorable feedback about the efficiency. She likewise kept in mind that “gay Twitter seemed to like it, so that’s good. I’ll take it.”

But not all audiences took pleasure in the musical collection. Following the efficiency, DeBose dealt with an avalanche of snarky criticism and memes on social networks, which caused the star deactivating her Twitter account.

After the program, BAFTAs manufacturer Nick Bullen concerned DeBose’s defense. “I think it’s incredibly unfair, to be frank. I absolutely loved it,” Bullen told Variety. “Everybody I’ve spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She’s a huge star, she was amazing.”

Another admirer of DeBose’s rap was Lizzo, who recreated the viral rap moment throughout a current performance. DeBose captured wind of the TikTok video and reposted it on her Instagram page. “The internet is wild y’all!” the West Side Story star wrote. “Appreciate all the love.”

Watch a part of DeBose’s BBC interview on TikTok listed below.

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