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Academy Awards faces backlash after cutting 'KPop Demon Hunters,' other acceptance speeches short

Published: 16 Mar. 2026, 16:27

Winners of the best original song for ″Golden″ (2025) from ″KPop Demon Hunters″ (2025) attend the Governors Ball after the Oscars on March 15 in Los Angeles on March 15. From left are Kwak Joong-gyu, Mark Sonnenblick, EJAE, Nam Hee-dong and Lee Yu-han. [AP/YONHAP]

The Netflix animated hit film “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025) won two awards at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, but the organizers cut the acceptance speech short, leaving several winners without a chance to speak.

The film won Best Animated Feature Film, and “Golden” (2025), the lead single from its soundtrack, earned Best Original Song at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The controversial moment occurred shortly after “Golden” won its award.

Singer and songwriter EJAE, who helped write and compose the song and features as the main vocalist, said, “I’m so proud. And I realized, the song, this award, is not about success; it’s about resilience. Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop, but now everyone’s singing our song and all the Korean lyrics.”

As EJAE handed the microphone to another winner, however, the music that signals winners to leave the stage began to play, leaving co-lyricist Mark Sonnenblick and composers Kwak Joong-gyu, Lee Yu-han, Nam Hee-dong and Seo Jeong-hoon without a chance to speak.

Lionel Richie, left, presents the award for best original song to EJAE for ″Golden″ (2025) from ″KPop Demon Hunters″ (2025) during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 15. [AP/YONHAP]

A similar incident occurred when “KPop Demon Hunters” won Best Animated Feature.

Co-directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans delivered remarks before producer Michelle Wong took the microphone. The stage music then started to play, but this time, the organizers stopped the music and allowed Wong to finish speaking.

Television host Ahn Hyun-mo, a commentator for the Korean broadcast of the ceremony, expressed his disappointment that several winners in the Best Original Song category did not get a chance to speak.

“We listened to a much longer acceptance speech earlier,” Ahn said.

However, the “KPop Demon Hunters” team was not the only one cut off midspeech. Earlier in the ceremony, the acceptance speech for “Two People Exchanging Saliva” was cut short so abruptly that host Conan O'Brien made a joke out of it.

“A history-making moment at the Academy Awards was followed by a moment that is sure to have angered K-pop fans,” CNN reported. “Expect K-pop fans to riot on social media because it was a moment and could have been an even bigger one had they been given more time. For shame.”

“KPop Demon Hunters” follows a girl group named HUNTR/X who secretly protect humanity by fighting demons — particularly a demon boy band called the Saja Boys.

From left: Mira, Rumi and Zoey are seen in a still from ″KPop Demon Hunters″ (2025). [AP/YONHAP]

The film and “Golden” also won Best Motion Picture — Animated and Best Original Song, respectively, at the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 11. “Golden” won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 1.

At the Academy Awards, the film beat Disney's “Zootopia 2" (2025) and Pixar's “Elio” (2025) to win best animated feature.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK JONG-SUH [[email protected]]