'KPop Demon Hunters' Speech Cut Off at Oscars; Racism Alleged
The track, performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, made history as the first K-pop song ever to claim the Oscar.
The 98th Academy Awards turned controversial when the producers of Netflix’s blockbuster animated film KPop Demon Hunters had their acceptance speech abruptly cut short after winning Best Original Song for Golden. The track, performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, made history as the first K-pop song ever to claim the Oscar.
EJAE delivered an emotional speech first. She then passed the microphone to co-writer Yu Han Lee. Almost immediately, the orchestra struck up the play-off music. Essentially, the move drowned out his prepared remarks.
The incident has ignited fierce backlash. Many have described it as “racist". Billboard and Rolling Stone reported the premature cutoff, noting other winners received fuller airtime.
Netizens flooded X with outrage. One viral post with over 3,000 likes declared, “I am sorry but this was so disrespectful to cut KPop Demon Hunters speech… ” Another user raged, “WTF, the Oscars just cut off… Racism much????” Comments poured in: “Why cut the Asians mid-thanks when others weren’t?” and “They should apologize!” Some acknowledged strict timing rules but called the execution “harsh” and biased against the Korean-led team reading notes.
"The Oscars audience erupted in anger and boos when EJAE got emotional as she made history as the first Oscar win for a K-pop song and the academy played music over her as she attempted to speak. Viewers are currently pissed online, no way to put it lightly," Dom Lucre wrote.