Angela Bassett ‘forced a smile’ after Black Panther 2 Oscar loss

Angela Bassett reflected on her deep disappointment after losing out on the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Black Panther 2.

Black Panther 2 — also known as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — showcased a ton of stellar performances from its A-list cast.

This sequel to the 2018 box office hit was the first time the cast was together after the tragic loss of the movie’s star Chadwick Boseman, so a lot of the raw emotions seen throughout the scenes seemed to stem from a real place.

One of those excellent performances came from the movie’s matriarch Queen Ramonda played by Angela Bassett, who earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 2023 Oscars. Bassett eventually lost the award to another actress and recently has opened up about how disappointed she was after failing to win the award.

Bassett smiled through her disappointment during Oscar snub

During a recent conversation with Oprah for the mogul’s OWN Spotlight series, Bassett opened up about her true feelings surrounding her shocking Oscar loss to Jamie Lee Curtis, who won for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

“I was gobsmacked! I was,” Bassett explained, “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? We’re going to smile, we’re going to be gracious, we’re going to be kind, we’re going to party anyway.”

Bassett added that handling the loss with dignity and grace was important “for myself and for my children who were there with me.”

Prior to the 2023 nomination, Bassett has only been nominated for an Oscar once before in 1994 for her role as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It.