Al Pacino is doing a bit of damage control after botching his Oscars award presentation.
If you tuned into the 96th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, you, like many others, were probably on the edge of your seat waiting to hear which film would take home the coveted Best Picture award! And of course, we now know that Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer did. But when Al came out to announce it, audience members were left puzzled by his, uh, less than traditional speech.
Related: Did Emma Stone Call Jimmy Kimmel A ‘Prick’ After His Oscars Joke?!
In case you missed it, the 83-year-old passed on reading out all ten of the nominees, which has been standard practice in years prior. He didn’t even say the traditional “and the Oscar goes to…” Instead, he said:
“This is the time for the last award of the evening, and it’s my honor to present it. Ten wonderful films were nominated, but only one will take the award for Best Picture. And I have to go to the envelope for that, and I will. Here it comes. And my eyes see Oppenheimer. Yes. Yes.”
Watch (below):
You can literally tell from the clip that everyone in the audience was confused for a second! They delayed applause, and there was the delayed victory music. It was all so awkward! But The Godfather star has an explanation for it all. On Monday, he said in a statement to Us Weekly:
“There seems to be some controversy about my not mentioning every film by name last night before announcing the Best Picture award. I just want to be clear it was not my intention to omit them, rather a choice by the producers not to have them said again since they were highlighted individually throughout the ceremony. I was honored to be a part of the evening and chose to follow the way they wished for this award to be presented.”
That’s certainly an inneresting choice! He continued:
“I realize being nominated is a huge milestone in one’s life and to not be fully recognized is offensive and hurtful. I saw this as someone who profoundly relates with filmmakers, actors and producers so I deeply empathize with those who have been slighted by this oversight and it’s why I felt it necessary to make this statement.”
Well, good on him for making the statement. At the end of the day, a win is a win, right, Oppenheimer?? Hilariously, host Jimmy Kimmel spoke out about the awkward moment on Live With Kelly and Mark on Monday morning, saying:
“I guess he’s never watched an awards show before. It seems like everyone in America knows the rhythm of how it’s supposed to go, down to ‘And the Oscar goes to…’ but not Al.”
What was YOUR reaction to Al’s bizarre Oscars speech, Perezcious readers?? Let us know in the comments (below)!
[Images via ABC/YouTube]
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