Yes, we are human too.

 

There's something worth noting the similar language used in articles that highlighted on Angela Basset's reaction to losing to Jamie Lee Curtis during the 2023 Oscars for best supporting actress that magnified on Basset's facial expressions, how Basset didn't applaud for Curtis, or how she looked "unimpressed." Fast forward to the 2026 award season where a similar pattern is being noticed when Michael B. Jordan lost the award to Timothee Chalamet for best lead actor at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards. Both Jordan and Basset shared the screen with one another in Ryan Coogler's 2018 superhero film, Black Panther, and ironically both of them are experiencing similar social media treatment that elaborates on their facial expressions when they lost their respective awards. Celebrities are allowed to be human and show emotion, but there seems to be a double standard of the extent of the emotion black artists are allowed to experience, especially when they lose to their white counterparts. There's already an expected and laborious journey they must pursue as they must word twice as hard to even have their art recognized by the majority of white film critics, and there's that societal pressure they experience especially if they happen to be the only person of color in their category. Basset even opened up to the public media saying that she wasn't "Allowed to be disappointed," and additionally opened up to saying how she worked extremely hard in her movie, Wakanda Forever as she reprised her role as grieving Queen Rowanda. When white actors and actresses lose an award, the media doesn't focus or magnify their reaction and instead moves on, but when a black actor or actress loses specifically to their white counterpart, their reactions seem to always be the highlight of discussion on digital platforms. 

I think it's shameful to police how a person should react. We've placed celebrities to high on a pedestal where we don't allow them the room to express their emotions -- if they don't react, they're too robotic, but if they do react, they're too overly emotional. Same can be said about Beyonce and the media treatment she received for being "too robotic." I believe society puts too much pressure on black people and when they realize they can't mold them into something they want, they do everything in their power to dehumanize them or undermine their pain/emotions. Again, it all goes back to intersectionality; black women carry the brunt of negative stereotypes when it comes to expressing their emotions or being dehumanized from their emotions such as the angry black woman stereotype that was often presented in pop culture or even the strong black woman trope. We don't allow black women to fully be human. Society holds them back from them humanity and punishes them as a result for feeling any kind of emotion whether it be joy, anger, sadness, grief, disappointment etc. 

Angela Basset or Michael B. Jordan don't have to clap or sit there with a smile on their face if they don't want to. They shouldn't be expected to stand up or give a standing ovation to their white counterparts. They deserve to be human to its fullest extent and not have their humanity minimized for the sake of an awards show.