Angela Bassett perfectly responds to a NYT photo caption mixing up her and Omarosa
Angela Bassett didn’t grab the lighter fluid and torch the New York Times for a recent mistake the newspaper made, but she did have a clever response.
On Tuesday, the Times apologized for some early print editions that featured a picture of the “Waiting to Exhale” and “Black Panther” star at the 2018 Emmys alongside a caption that confused Bassett with former White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman.
oh my god the New York Times mixed up Angela Bassett with Omarosa pic.twitter.com/jLoePOqADy
— julia reinstein 🚡 (@juliareinstein) September 18, 2018
Needless to say, many Twitter users were astounded by the egregious slip-up, especially since Manigault-Newman certainly was not a presenter during Monday night’s Emmys.
Wow @nytimes do all dark skinned black women look the same to your editors?? Gorgeous and talented Queen Angela Bassett looks nothing like that other one. 😳🙄 #NYTimes#majoreffuphttps://t.co/hPx1tlgTQv
— Joy Villa TEXT JOY to 88022 for Trump (@Joy_Villa) September 18, 2018
The Times said it would run a correction in the next day’s paper and added that it published the incorrect caption because it was provided from a “photo wire service.”
We regret running an incorrect caption from a photo wire service in some early print editions. We will issue a correction in tomorrow's paper.https://t.co/fEezxxXo0M
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) September 18, 2018
And although many wished the 60-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress would respond like her character Bernadine Harris...
only appropriate response to this: pic.twitter.com/gDk4C1v8Fp
— Emma Thorne (@ewthor) September 18, 2018
… Bassett herself was much less fiery in her reaction.
“Hey Everybody, no worries!” she tweeted Tuesday, using a meme from the television show “Scandal.”
Hey Everybody, no worries! xoAng pic.twitter.com/iPq2uQVy4I
— Angela Bassett (@ImAngelaBassett) September 18, 2018
Though the Times never specifies which wire service they sourced the photo from, Getty Images is syndicating the same image with a large correction note in its caption. It seems the photo was taken by an AFP photographer but distributed through Getty Images.
A similar mistake caused controversy earlier this year at the Oscars when Getty Images mixed up Asian actresses Kelly Marie Tran and Olympian Mirai Nagasu.