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Oscar season is a big thing in Hollywood, especially for the actors who go from red carpet to red carpet, campaigning for those votes to win the coveted gold statue. Two particular performers this season, Angela Bassett and Austin Butler, shared a strong bond over what it’s like to be the frontrunner for an award and then lose that category to someone else. It’s an unusual club to be a member of, but Bassett perfectly captured the heartache and joy of their bond.
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star wrote a beautiful tribute to Butler, who was named one of Time‘s 100 Most Influential People of 2023. She shared how they “connected in a fleeting moment” at an event and how the Elvis actor “opened his heart to new friends” during the crazy awards season. They would bump into each other over and over again, but they didn’t know how their paths would cross on Oscar night in an unforgettable, but heartbreaking, way.
Bassett was expected to take home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar that night, but she lost to Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once. It was a crushing blow, but she decided to gently support Butler who was seated next to her at the Dolby Theatre. “I understood intimately what he felt when it was time to learn if he would climb those stairs to the stage. So, I took his hand and held it softly as the winner was announced,” she continued. In a clip from the March show, Basset can be seen grabbing both of his hands as he nervously awaited the outcome of his category and turned to her with a sweet smile — she was exactly the friend he needed in the moment.
The night may not have gone in the direction either of them hoped, but they were there for each other. “Although his name wasn’t called, Austin is no less a winner,” Bassett summed up. “The time had come for Austin to say goodbye to Elvis as he began to embrace an infinite universe of possibilities as an actor. I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.”
Before you go, click here to see all the most shocking Oscars looks over the years.
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