Ariana DeBose and Bella Ramsey embrace at Emmys 2024 following savage awards show joke

Ariana DeBose and Bella Ramsey were pictured embracing each other warmly at the 2024 Emmy Awards ceremony.

Just one day previously, Ramsey had delivered a joke at DeBose’s expense while presenting the trophy for Best Song at the Critics Choice Awards.

Announcing the award next to In the Heights star Anthony Ramos, Ramsey, 20, namechecked DeBose, 32, alongside Jack Black and Ryan Gosling as “actors who also think that they are singers”.

The quip drew the ire of DeBose herself, who was in attendance and could be seen scowling. She subsequently wrote on Instagram that she “didn’t find it funny”.

DeBose is a celebrated musical theatre performer, and won an Academy Award for her role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.

During Monday night’s (15 January) Emmys ceremony, however, Ramsey and Debose were seen in an affectionate embrace.

While the initial joke had been criticised by fans of DeBose on social media, many pointed out that Ramsey would not have written the material themself.

Ramsey was attending the Emmys as a nominee, having been nominated for their lead role in the post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us.

They ultimately lost out on the prize to Succession’s Sarah Snook. The win was one of many for Succession, which emerged as the night’s biggest winner.

Succession’s Kieran Culkin won the award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as the mischievous, foul-mouthed Roman Roy.

He used his speech to tell his wife Jazz Charton: “Thank you for sharing your life with me and giving me two amazing kids... I want more. You said ‘maybe’, if I win! I love you so much.”

Also on the night, Sir Elton John has become the 19th person in history to achieve an “EGOT”.

The honour, an acronym which stands for “Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, [and] Tony”, is unofficially bestowed upon entertainers who have managed to win the biggest awards in the four fields.

John earned the title with a win for his Disney+ concert programme Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium.

You can read a full list of the 2024 Emmy winners here.