Ariana DeBose isn't looking to rumble with her haters.
Seven months after making history as the first queer woman of color to win an Oscar, the West Side Story actress addressed anyone who had their doubts about her. "There have been insinuations that I was given an Oscar because I'm queer and because I am an Afro-Latina," she told Elle for their Women in Hollywood issue. "And that's haterade. That's just haterade. And I know that."
"We wouldn't have had conversations around my identity," she continued, "or any of the labels associated with my name, if my work had not first been exceptional."
So yeah, she deserves everything she's earned.
"I've always said, I don't believe I should be handed anything," the 31-year-old said. "I want to earn my seat at the table. I don't believe in everybody getting gold stars just because you tried," she told the outlet. "I want the gold star because I busted my balls to be where I am."
She's not only put in the work, but she's clocked in plenty of overtime. "I trained, and I took the private lessons, and I humbled myself," the Hamilton alum added. "I fell on my face multiple times in the 10 years it took me to get to where I am."
She added, "Hell, I took a voice lesson yesterday. Yesterday."
She wants her story to be an inspiration for anyone watching. Back in March, while accepting her Academy Award, DeBose reminded fans anything is possible.
"To anybody who has ever questioned your identity ever, ever, ever, or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this," she said on stage. "There is indeed a place for us."