Ariana DeBose Fangirls Over Morgan Freeman at Oscars 2023: 'Wholesome Moments Only'

Ariana DeBose Fangirls Over Morgan Freeman at Oscars 2023: 'Wholesome Moments Only'

Ariana DeBose was understandably starstruck at the 95th Academy Awards.


The Oscar winner, 32, shared the sweet moment she met Morgan Freeman at Sunday's award show, sharing a clip to Instagram of the two of them crossing paths as they were interviewed backstage for Live with Kelly and Ryan.


"Wholesome moments only. It was an honor to meet you sir @morganfreeman!" wrote Debose in the caption.


In the video, she looks up to see Freeman, 85, standing behind her and gasps in reaction, before he playfully 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 responded with a "How do you do, Ariana?" before asking her to clarify the spelling of her name. "And I'm gonna get out the way so you can talk to our good friends. You have a nice day," Debose said before starting to walk away.


"So far, so good," Freeman remarked, to which she responded: "It's not too shabs, right?"


The West Side Story star's jaw appropriately dropped as she walked away. Freeman then told hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest that DeBose's reaction was similar to most actors when meeting him for the first time.


After winning her first Academy Award for Best Actress last year for her portrayal of Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake, DeBose presented the awards for both Best Supporting categories on Sunday with fellow category champ Troy Kotsur.


Freeman won Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby, and he's been nominated for his roles in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus.

Ariana DeBose Fangirls Over Morgan Freeman at Oscars 2023: 'Wholesome Moments Only'