Ariana DeBose turned Angela Bassett into a viral meme following her Baftas performance earlier this month (Picture: Rex/Getty)

Angela Bassett has shared her thoughts on Ariana DeBose’s performance at the Baftas earlier this month.

The Black Panther star, 64, was namedropped by 32-year-old Ariana when she opened the star-studded ceremony with a rip-roaring vocal number that also featured a rap, in which the West Side Story actress said: ‘Angela Bassett did the thing.’

Exactly what ‘the thing’ is has remained a secret ever since, but on Saturday night Angela confirmed she’d reached out to Ariana and even mentioned her in her acceptance speech when she won the entertainer of the year gong at the NAACP Awards.

‘I DM’d her last night,’ Angela said, confirming she’d reached out to Ariana, who was inundated with negative comments after her London performance.

‘I just wanted to make sure she was okay because, you know, it’s a lot of attention. And she is A-Okay,’ Angela added to Variety on the NAACP Awards red carpet.

She also said she thought Ariana’s rap was ‘beautiful’.

Angela confirmed on Saturday that she’s reached out to Ariana (Picture: BET)

Stepping on stage to collect her award on Saturday in California, Angela quipped: ‘I guess Angela Bassett did the thing!’ as the crowd cheered.

Earlier this month, Ariana received criticism on social media for her lyrics that commented on each of the female nominees up for gongs at Baftas. 

Despite backlash from viewers, the later revealed she had a lot of positive feedback from stars in the audience and that she massively enjoyed her time on stage at the British fixture.

Sitting with Zoe Ball during her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, the star addressed the negative comments.

Ariana received criticism on social media for her lyrics that commented on each of the female nominees up for gongs at Baftas (Picture: Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)

Despite backlash from viewers, the later revealed she had a lot of positive feedback from stars in the audience and that she massively enjoyed her time on stage at the British fixture (Picture: PA)

Their chat began with Zoe offering her admiration and praise for the now-viral rap to which Ariana responded: ‘You know what, you might be one of the few. I’ll take it, because you’re my people.’

She continued explaining: ‘Honestly, it’s not like I’m like: “Hey BAFTA, let me in!”

‘They actually called me, believe it or not 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.

‘[It was] so awesome, and then I spent the rest of the night, you know, cutting a rug.

‘Which, is that something you say here? Cutting a rug with Emma Thompson?

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‘It was fabulous. I had a great time.’

Ariana went on to reveal others in attendance were big fans of her performance including the likes of Baz Luhrmann. 

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The thing has officially been done.