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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Daniel Bird

'Painful and awkward' BAFTA rap performed by Ariana DeBose leaves viewers cringing

Ariana DeBose has come under fire from BAFTA viewers just hours after she took to the stage to open the 76th awards on Sunday night.

The actress, who last year walked away with Best Supporting Actress, appeared on stage as she belted out a rap about this year's female nominees.

As viewers tuned into the prestigious awards show which was attended by the BAFTA President, Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, Ariana, 32, dropped the names of several nominees during her rendition of Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves bu The Eurythmics.

Included in the rap were the likes of Viola Davis, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ana De Armas.

Ariana DeBose's performance at the BAFTA Film Awards has been criticised by viewers (Getty Images for BAFTA)

The actress started her performance wearing a jaw-dropping skirt which was later pulled off by dancers as she took to the stage in a trouser suit.

But viewers were not happy as they took to Twitter to share their reactions, with one writing: "P***ing myself laughing at Ariana DeBose's BAFTA song, why did this happen?"

"Got a lot of time for the celebs who smiled charmingly and awkwardly during Ariana DeBose's painful BAFTA rap," commented a second.

Ariana dropped the name of several female nominees during her performance (Getty Images for BAFTA)

Before a third went on to write: "Absolutely awful she wouldn't get a single turn on The Voice."

Over the course of the evening, viewers at home and those in the audience at the Royal Festival Hall saw the likes of Austin Butler praised for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in his recent biopic.

Taking to the stage, Butler, 31, appeared emotional as he stated he had hoped to have made the Presley family proud of his work while also thanking director Baz Luhrmann.

Ariana opened the star-studded event held at the Royal Festival Hall (Getty Images for BAFTA)
Elsewhere, Austin Butler teared up as he was praised for his portrayal of Elvis Presley (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

As he held back his tears, Austin told the star-studded crowd: "I want to thank my family. You are my everything and last thing, I want to thank the Presley family, I can't thank you guys enough for the love, and thanks for sharing with me who Elvis truly was.

"I hope I made you proud, this means the world to me. Thank you so much."

Reflecting on the recent events surrounding the Presley family and the tragic death of Elvis' only daughter, Lisa-Marie, he said: "It's been a roller-coaster lately – a lot of peaks and these deep valleys of sorrow.

"A moment like this, it feels joyous, but it also feels bittersweet because I just wish Lisa Marie was here to celebrate with us right now.

"It definitely has filled me with a lot of appreciation for every moment that I got to spend with her and just how lucky I was to get the type of experiences that I had with her – very private moments and that sort of thing – that I’ll just cherish for the rest of my life."

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