Ariana DeBose couldn't hide her surprise and excitement when she came face-to-face with the legendary Morgan Freeman at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, 2023. The 32-year-old Oscar winner was so overwhelmed by the presence of the 85-year-old veteran actor, who is also an Oscar winner. The moment was caught on camera and shared by DeBose herself. The video shows Freeman walking up to DeBose as she was speaking to hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest as they were interviewed backstage for Live with Kelly and Ryan. The West Side Story star wrote in the caption, "Wholesome moments only. It was an honor to meet you sir @morganfreeman!"
In the video, Freeman can be seen walking up to DeBose as she was speaking to hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. The actress looks up to see the veteran actor standing behind her and gasps in reaction before he jokingly feigns a gasp back. "No, I just really respect and love you a lot, sir," DeBose told him before shaking his hand. "And my name's Ariana, and it's a pleasure to meet you." Freeman shook her hand and said "How do you do, Ariana?" before asking her to spell her name.
DeBose spelled her name out for the legend before she started to walk away. "And I'm gonna get out the way so you can talk to our good friends. You have a nice day," Debose as she made way for the actor. "So far, so good," Freeman remarked, to which she responded, "It's not too shabs, right?" As DeBose walked away from her encounter with the icon, her jaw dropped in awe and admiration. The actor even poked fun at their interaction when host Ryan asked the star how fellow actors responded to meeting him. Freeman once again jokingly feigned a gasp mimicking DeBose's reaction.
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The wholesome moment is a reminder of another fangirl moment at the Oscars between Jennifer Lawrence and Jack Nicholson. (Again both Oscar winners!) Fresh from winning Best Actress at the 85th Academy Awards for her role in Silver Linings Playbook, Lawrence was speaking with journalist George Stephanopoulos when Nicholson dropped in during the interview, per ABC News. “You did such a beautiful job,” he said while sneaking into the shot. “I didn’t mean to cross into your interview but I had to congratulate you,” Nicholson said. Lawrence can be seen miserably failing at keeping calm when the actor went a step further and said, “You look like an old girlfriend of mine.” Lawrence quipped back, “Really? Do I look like a new girlfriend?” before giggling back to interviewer Stephanopoulos. The actor then said, "I've thought about it," to which Lawrence smiled and then quickly buried her hands in her face whispering loudly, "Oh my god!" "Is he still there?" she then asked Stephanopoulos. Nicholson comes back into the shot saying, "I'll be waiting!" That was the first time she ever met the legendary actor and it turned out to be one of the most memorable moments in Oscar history!
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