Angela Bassett Receives An Honorary Oscar From The Academy

Angela Bassett is set to receive an honorary Oscar at this year’s Governors Awards but it begs the question; when will the Queen TRULY get her just due?

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that Bassett, along with Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton, will receive honorary Oscars in 2023. The Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter will also receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards, all of which will be presented at the 14th annual ceremony on Saturday, November 18.

“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” said Academy President Janet Yang. “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting.”

This Honorary Award is meant “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or outstanding service to the Academy.”

Angela Bassett is a veteran actor and has been a beloved figure in Hollywood for over four decades now. She received her first Oscar nomination for best actress for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It? in 1993. She picked up her second nomination for supporting actress for her role as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022, making history as the first actor from a Marvel Studios film and the first woman from a superhero movie, to receive acting recognition.

Once it was announced that Bassett would be receiving an honorary Oscar, many of her fans were quick to celebrate on social media, but others had mixed feelings about the decision. Of course, many of those feelings stem from the fact that she should have won Oscars for specific performances, not just an honorary award after the fact.

Has she not given everything?

Bassett, however, doesn’t think she was robbed from earlier awards.

When speaking with Gayle King on CBS Mornings ahead of the 2023 Oscars earlier this year, she explained why she didn’t feel “robbed” after her first nomination.

“Of course, in the moment you’re hoping and praying and wishing [you’ll win],” she confessed. “But I never… I don’t walk away thinking ‘I’ve been robbed.'”

She went on to say: “That’s too negative of an emotion to carry with me for the rest of my life. I choose to believe there was a reason why it didn’t happen.”