Ariana DeBose is set to “do the thing” once again. On April 12, she was announced as the host for the annual Tony Awards for the second year in a row.
“She’s baaaack!” tweeted the official Tony Awards account, announcing the news.
“I was honored to serve as host last year and even more so to be asked back! So looking forward to celebrating this incredible season and the people who make the work happen,” DeBose said in a statement. “Here’s to adding some uptown flavor to the magic of the Tony Awards!”
DeBose is known both for her work on the stage and screen.
Last year, she made history with her Oscar-winning performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of “West Side Story," becoming the became the first Afro Latina and first openly queer woman of color to win an Oscar.
She has also been nominated for a Tony herself for her role in “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical." More of her musical theater accomplishments? She was in the original cast of “Hamilton" and more recently had a starring role in the Apple TV+ show “Schmigadoon!,” which just premiered its second season.
This hosting gig comes on the heels of her viral performance at this year’s BAFTA Awards in February.
DeBose opened the show with an original rap in which she mentioned some of the women nominated that evening.
The words “Angela Bassett did the thing / Viola Davis my Woman King / Blanchett Cate you’re a genius / Jamie Lee you are all of us" took the internet by storm, resulting in memes and write-ups galore. Bassett herself referenced the song during her speech at the NAACP Image Awards
After briefly deleting her Twitter account amid the blowback, DeBose soon took well to the online buzz, eventually even selling merch with the lyrics on it, with proceeds going to the U.K. based charity, Mermaids.
The 76th annual award show will be broadcast live on June 11 from the United Palace Theater in New York City, and will be aired on CBS and Paramount+. Nominations will be announced on May 2.