Al Pacino explains why he didn’t read out nominees before announcing Best Picture winner
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images / ABC
Al Pacino has addressed the controversy surrounding this weekend's Oscars.
The Academy Awards took place on Sunday (March 10), which saw The Godfather star presenting one of the night's biggest awards - Best Picture.
But rather than reading out the nominees, he simply steamed ahead to announce Oppenheimer as the winner, leaving some viewers confused.
The Holdovers, American Fiction, The Zone of Interest, Barbie, Poor Things, Past Lives, Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro and Killers of the Flower Moon were also nominated for the highly coveted award.
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People took to X in the wake of Pacino's apparent Oscars faux pas, where one wrote: "I’m obsessed with the way Al Pacino announced Oppenheimer as Best Picture. couldn’t have been more chaotic or confusing lol."
"Did Al Pacino just not read any of the other movies… and was like to hell with it. The envelope says Oppenheimer!" another wrote.
Some had theories about why Pacino didn't name the nominees and suggested that it was because of Barbie's tongue-in-cheek dig at The Godfather in the movie.
Following people's confusion about his hosting style, the veteran actor has now addressed the matter and apologized.
He said in a statement, as per Variety: "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."
Pacino went on: "I realize being nominated is a huge milestone in one’s life and to not be fully recognized is offensive and hurtful.
"I say 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."
Elsewhere, Oscars producer Molly McNearney told the magazine that it was a 'creative decision' to not have Pacino name all ten of the nominees because they were concerned that the show was 'going to be very long'.
Noting that Best Picture is the final award of the night, McNearney added: "People just want to hear who wins, and they’re pretty ready for the show to be over. At least that’s what we anticipated. So, we did not give him a clip package."
McNearney also apologized for the 'tough spot' that Pacino might have been put in in the wake of their decision.