Sincerely, Saskia

When we talk about actors with range, actors who have more than paid their dues and given us memorable, exhilarating performances, Angela Bassett is worthy of being on any and all lists. 

From What’s love got to do with it and Waiting to Exhale to Boyz N The Hood and Wakanda Forever, Angela Bassett has graced our screens for nearly 40 years and only now, in 2024, has been given an Oscar – an honorary one, at that. 

Now, an honorary Oscar is, of course, a huge achievement and in no way is something to be disregarded. After all, how many of you reading this (me included) can say you’ve got one lying around on a shelf somewhere.

Honorary Oscars have been deservingly had by the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, James Earl Jones – all heavy hitters in the industry, all with contributions to film that will live on forever. I mean, Mufasa, hello.  

However, there is a ‘but’ coming. 

Is she deserving of such an Oscar? Absolutely, no question. Should she already have a couple under her belt? Absolutely, no question. Need I remind people that Halle Berry – as talented as she is – is still the only Black woman to have every won an Oscar for Best Actress in a film. Not supporting actress, actress. Halle Berry won her Oscar in 2002 for Monster’s Ball, and since then, the academy has found no other performance by a Black actress worthy of receiving an Oscar in that category? Really?

Let us not even mention the fact that no Black female director has ever been nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards either. 

There’s a reason that actresses like Taraji P. Henson are crying on press tours… sh*t is hard for Black actresses in Hollywood.

The problem isn’t so much Angela’s Oscar being honorary as much as it is a reminder just how slow the industry moves when it comes to Black actresses, how they are constantly slept on despite having to work three times as hard, and just how far there is still left to go.

There’s a reason that actresses like Taraji P. Henson are crying on press tours… sh*t is hard for Black actresses in Hollywood. You can do everything right and still not get as far as your white counterparts. Why else would Angela Bassett – a talent who has been waiting for her moment since 1993 – finally become a recipient of an Oscar and use her speech as a pep talk of sorts to remind other Black actresses of how meaningful their contributions to the industry are? Not only that, but to remind the industry that Black actresses exist and that they all deserve their flowers. We all know the industry often fails to do this, so leave it to the likes of a Black actress, who knows what her standing means to so many, to pick up the slack.

If Margot Robbie was receiving an Oscar, she wouldn’t be obligated to use her moment to champion the likes of Jessica Chastain, Emma Stone or Olivia Coleman out of anything other than politeness, recognising her competition in the same category. But there was a purpose behind Bassett’s delivery: a need to utilise the moment for the greater good of Black actresses everywhere – and that is a lot of weight to carry.

The speech Angela Bassett gave at the Governors Awards ceremony last week was not a speech for an untelevised event.

Angela is no stranger to an Oscar snub. As if we’d dare forget the fact that she didn’t win in 1994 for her mesmerising portrayal of the late, great Miss Tina Turner (God, rest her soul), or the fact that she was again snubbed in 2023 for her role in Wakanda Forever. No shade to Jamie Lee  Curtis, but if we’re talking about impact here, “the Oscar goes to…” the wrong person.

The speech Angela Bassett gave at the Governors Awards ceremony last week was not a speech for an untelevised event. That was a speech for the ages, the main event – despite it being 15 mins long and probably would have resulted in her being ushered off by the unforgiving time tyrants of the Academy Awards. 

I’m not saying we should see Angela Bassett’s Oscar as anything other than the win it is for her, or that the industry isn’t changing. I’ve been living for seeing the likes of Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Quinta Brunson, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey and more make strides in the industry. There is so much undeniable Black female talent, but the problem nowadays isn’t so much the quantity as much as it is whether or not they’re getting fair consideration when it comes to such accolades. 

We all want to reach a time where we can’t count the number of Black nominees on one hand, and with the Oscar nominees for this year yet to drop, let’s hope we don’t see them fallback and that change is closer than we think…

Image Credit: Instagram/ @im.angelabassett