Oscars respond after KPop Demon Hunters have to finish speech backstage

The bigwig in charge of the Oscars telecast has explained why the plug was prematurely pulled on the speech given by the songwriters behind KPop Demon Hunters.

During the glitzy awards ceremony on Sunday (15 March), the masterminds behind the music in the popular Netflix film were interrupted by the orchestra.

As their moment on the mic was cut short, Kim Eun-jae (EJAE), Yu-Han Lee, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park had to finish their speeches backstage.

EJAE, who voices Rumi in KPop Demon Hunters, initially took the reins when the gang got on stage to accept the award for Best Original Song for their hit 'Golden'.

The singer, 34, tearfully told of how proud it made her to hear people chanting their lyrics, before stepping aside as Lee prepared to say a few words.

But the lyricist barely got a few words out before the orchestra began playing and his mic was seemingly cut off, prompting boos from the audience and a lot of backlash on social media.

The award winners then ended up finishing off their speeches backstage, with Lee taking a moment to thank their 'families, 24, and our fellow IDO members' for the 'incredible honour' that is winning an Oscar.

Sonnenblick also added: "My family, some of them here tonight-my husband is here tonight. Everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board.

"Part of the movie is about looking at someone that you had been taught to hate and to fear, and starting to trust, maybe love them.

"A movie is like a village, and we're lucky to be up here right now, but there's so many people who have made this what it is."

EJAE also told Deadline that she had intended to also thank Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna onstage, but 'didn't get to because they just cut us off'.

Social media users heavily criticised the awards show for curtailing the speeches so soon - and now, the man who takes charge of what viewers get to see from home has responded.

Rob Mills, who is the Executive Vice President of Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment at Walt Disney Television, said there will likely be an overhaul of the rules surrounding speeches to avoid any similar incidents in future.

Speaking to Variety about the awkward moment that the KPop Demon Hunters songwriters experienced, he said: "One thing, as we post mortem for next year, will be to look at how we’re handling speeches.

“You win the Oscar, you know you go on stage, it could be one person, it could be five or six. Immediately you’ll see the sort of allotted time we have for them.

"Do we need to look at it and say, okay, designate one person to speak. Maybe you continue it backstage, and we have a feed on social or something like that.

"We look at everything and figure out what is the most elegant solution, because it is difficult, especially when you’re cutting somebody off and it’s their one moment.

"We talk about it at the award luncheon, that you have this designated time to speak, and it’s difficult.

"I don’t know what the most elegant solution is, but it’s obviously something we should look really, really long and hard at."

Explaining why the performance of 'Golden' was also wrapped up quickly, Mills said it was 'by design'.

"That wasn’t something that you can call an audible on, because those things are so well-rehearsed," he continued. "Yes, they cut a verse.

"But I think certainly with the lead up and the production, you got a feeling of it. Probably what is the best thing musical number can accomplish is it makes you want to go and watch the movie again.

"I think both musical numbers, they really encapsulated both the sort of just the feeling of those movies, beyond just just the music."