Oscars slammed for 'rude' move as KPop Demon Hunters makes history with win

Viewers of the Oscars are unimpressed with a 'rude' move after KPop Demon Hunters made history at the 98th Academy Awards.

'Golden', a hit from the 2025 film, won Best Original Song at the Oscars, as well as having claimed the award for Best Animated Feature earlier on in the evening.

Since its debut onto Netflix on June 20 2025, the film has reached more than 500 million watches on the platform, with HUNTR/X, the fictional girl group in KPop Demon Hunters, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks.

At the Oscars, Maggie Kang, co-writer and co-director on KPop Demon Hunters, said in her acceptance speech for Best Animated Film: "For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took so long to see us in a movie like this, but it is here. That means the next generations don’t have to go longing.

"This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere."

The makers of 'Golden' have also made history as the tune has become the first k-pop track to win the Best Original Song at the Oscars.

One of the singing voices behind the group, EJAE, along with several producers, also came on stage to accept the film's win, as she said in her tearful speech: "Thank you so much to the Academy. Growing up, people made fun of me for liking K-pop. But now everyone's singing our song and all the Korean lyrics, I'm so proud."

Though the moment was overshadowed by the victory speech being cut off by the music when producer, Lee Yu-han, came to the microphone to speak, leading to a commerical break.

"Omg this is so rude!! They just made history give them 5 extra seconds," one person penned on X, while a second added: "STOP CUTTING WINNERS SPEECHES WHEN WE HAVE TO SIT THROUGH LONG A** UNFUNNY BITS."

According to the Korea Times, a similar incident occurred during the acceptance speech for Best Animated Feature, when producer Michelle L.M. Wong appeared to get ready to speak when the orchesta music began playing.

Backstage, EJAE elaborated on what the team hadn't gotten to say in their televised speech, with the singer adding (via Deadline): "We feel very grateful and very honored. We all worked so hard and this is such a collaborative effort, we just need to thank our directors.

"They created a beautiful film. Everyone was a part of it and we are just so happy that the hard work paid off."

She also said that she needed to thank Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna, who also sang with her on 'Golden', as they are 'incredible people' but she didn't get to do it 'because they just cut us off'.

Lee also finished off what he'd planned to say, adding: "I would like to thank all our families, my fellow Idol members and Teddy Park. This is an incredible honor."

UNILAD has reached out to the Academy Awards for comment.

Most controversial Oscar moments

Hattie McDaniel wins but is segregated from her cast (1940)

Now, we're going back for this one, but with #OscarsSoWhite only being 11 years ago, it's still as topical as ever.

McDaniel was the first Black woman to ever win an Oscar, for her supporting role in the equally controversial film Gone with the Wind. Although she made history that night, paving the way for the likes of Halle Berry and Cynthia Erivo, McDaniel was seated at the back of the room away from her co-stars.

This didn't stop McDaniel from giving an empowering speech, however, in which she said, 'my heart is too full to tell you just how I feel'.

A ban on political speeches (1993)

I don't know about you, but this one is new to me. In 1993, the Oscars seemed to tire of political speeches and decided to ban whoever dared utter one. Well, three people who said, 'f*** that' were Tim Robbins, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon.

And just as promised, the three were banned. Sarandon and Robbins only for a few years, but everyone's favourite 'officer' (iykyk) sat them out for years, except for making an appearance in 2013, and then never again.

Who would be the first to be banned if that rule still applied today?

Marlon Brando wins and snubs the whole ceremony (1973)

The Godfather star won his second Oscar for Best Actor in 1973, but instead of going and celebrating with his peers, he sent Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. Littlefeather revealed Brando would not be accepting the award due to Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans and the protests at Wounded Knee in South Dakota.

Littlefeather was met with extreme negativity and even booed during her speech.

Sacha Baron Cohen brought Kim Jong Il's 'ashes' to the red carpet (2012)

We all know Sacha Baron Cohen's humor is dark, but this stunt at the Oscars really disturbed some feathers - especially Ryan Seacrest's who ended up wearing the ashes.

To promote his film The Dictator, Cohen showed up on the carpet dressed as his fictional character, Admiral Aladeen. In tow, instead of bringing his wife at the time, Isla Fischer, or, you know, inviting a friend, Cohen's plus one was the 'ashes' of North Korea's previous dictator, Kim Jong Il, which he then spilt on host Ryan Seacrest.

Talk about committing to a bit... no matter how confusing or how uncomfortable it made people.

#OscarsSoWhite (2015 / 2016)

In 2015, Black actors, directors, producers and the like were completely cut out of the 2015 Oscar nominations. This prompted the social movement #OscarsSoWhite to take over social media and the entertainment industry, with notable Black Hollywood members boycotting the 2016 Oscars ceremony.

However, even after the impact it made, it clearly didn't phase the people behind the nominations as it happened again the year after. Chris Rock, who hosted the Oscars that year, addressed it in a 10-minute-long speech and pointed out that 'if they nominated [the] host, I wouldn’t even get this job'.

The award goes to... La La Land or... Moonlight (2017)

The 2017 Oscars were a weird one, to say the least. From Nicole Kidman's weird a** clap to Auli’i Cravalho getting hit in the head by a flag during her Moana performance and Jimmy Kimmel's bus full of tourists, the bad vibes just kept on coming.

When announcing the most prestigious award of the night, Best Film, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the gong had gone to La La Land, but they couldn't have been more wrong.

"There’s a mistake," producer Jordan Horowitz said. "Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture. This is not a joke." Could have fooled me, Horowitz.

It's safe to say it was a mortifying experience for all involved, with Moonlight director Barry Jenkins saying afterwards: “I noticed the commotion but I was speechless when the result was altered. I've never seen that happen before.”

The slap of the century (2022)

Easily the most unexpected thing to ever happen at the Oscars, Hollywood's favourite cousin, Will Smith, strode on stage and kapow-ed presenter Chris Rock in the face, after he made an ill-advised joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

The joke in question: “Jada, can't wait for G.I. Jane 2,” as a reference to the Gotham star's shaved head. Having been open about her struggles with alopecia, people saw this as a really low blow from Rock.

As Smith slapped the Madagascar star, he screamed: “Keep my wife's name out of your f**king mouth.”

The awkwardness did not end there, as Smith later won the Best Actor award and had to go on stage again to accept it.