Hollywood is only two weeks into awards show season, but many celebrities aren’t finding jokes made at their expense very funny. Add Ariana DeBose to the list of stars who would rather have their names left out of the writers’ rooms.
During the Sunday evening ceremony at the Critics Choice Awards, the former Broadway star became one of the punchlines for presenters Bella Ramsey and Anthony Ramos. They were presenting the award for best song which included the Disney movie, Wish, that DeBose was a part of. Ramsey joked that the category included a list of “actors who also think they are singers,” including Jack Black, Ryan Gosling, and yep, you guessed it, DeBose. When the camera cut to her face, she looked perplexed as to why she was on that list.
Let’s just run down DeBose’s list of accolades: Oscar winner for West Side Story (the musical!!!), Hamilton on Broadway, and singing in Disney’s animated movie, Wish. That should have been plenty of material for the writers to realize that adding her name to the joke just didn’t make sense. The triple threat addressed the issue in a very classy way on her Instagram Story after the ceremony with a simple two sentences. “No, I didn’t find it funny. Lol,” she wrote. There’s no other commentary needed because it was just a baffling inclusion.
DeBose’s clapback comes on the heels of comedian Jo Koy talking about “marshmallow” celebrities not enjoying humor anymore. He didn’t have the best night at the Golden Globes during his time hosting the show, and he had plenty to say in St. Louis at his first stand-up date since the debacle. “I just come from a different time,” he said in his first comedy show after the awards show, per Variety. “I see the changes that are happening. I get it, but goddamn, can we f**king laugh at ourselves?”
The first rule of humor is that the joke needs to be funny, so maybe that’s where comedians need to start before teasing stars. The DeBose joke fell flat because someone behind the scenes didn’t do their research — DeBose can belt with the best of them.
Before you go, click here to see photos from the original ‘West Side Story.’
Leave a Comment