Ariana DeBose slams Critics Choice Awards joke about her singing abilities

Academy Award winning actor Ariana DeBose appeared visibly insulted by a joke made about her singing abilities during the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday night. “The Last of Us” actor Bella Ramsey joked onstage that DeBose, Ryan Gosling and Jack Black are “actors that think they are singers,” prompting DeBose to furrow her brows as a camera caught her reaction during the broadcast.

DeBose, who has starred in Broadway musicals that include “Hamilton,” hit back at the joke on Instagram later that night. “No I didn’t find it funny. Lol,” the Tony nominated actor told her more than 700,000 followers. Ramsey made the joke in the lead up to the announcement that Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken,” from the “Barbie” movie, won the Critics Choice Award for best original song.

A spokesperson at the Critics Choice Association said the joke was scripted for Ramsey, but would not comment further. Ramsey’s management team could not be reached for comment. The joke may have been referring to DeBose’s performance at the British Academy of Film and Television Art Awards (BAFTAs) last February, where she performed a freestyle rap about the female nominees at the event.

The rap went viral , receiving both criticism and praise from netizens. One user on X called the rap “simultaneously awful and amazing.” DeBose appeared to deactivate her X account following the awards show. Screenwriter Cinco Paul, who worked with DeBose on the musical comedy series “Schmigadoon!,” took to X to call the joke “so wrong it’s embarrassing.” Paul, who also wrote screenplays for “Despicable Me,” “Horton Hears a Who” and “The Lorax,” shared a clip of DeBose belting out a song on Season Two of “Schmigadoon!” as “Exhibit A” of her singing prowess.

DeBose was the first Afro Latina actor nominated by the Academy Awards for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s version of the musical “West Side Story, ” an award she would win. She was also the first openly queer woman of color to win the best supporting actress Oscar for the role.

DeBose’s management team could not be reached for comment. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com..