After sparking quite the controversy over his Best Picture presentation at Sunday night's Oscars, Al Pacino is clearing the air.
The actor had many viewers confused when he took the stage to announce the best film of the year and nonchalantly named Oppenheimer as the winner without even naming the other nominees.
Envelope in hand, he addressed the audience:
“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."
He then opened the envelope and revealed the winner.
“And my eyes see ‘Oppenheimer.’”
You can watch below.
Al Pacino BREAKS SILENCE On Oscars Best Picture Moment youtu.be
But Pacino said the omission of the other nominees was intentional.
In a statement made to Variety on Monday, the Godfather star explained:
“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.”
He continued, "empathizing" with those who felt "slighted by this oversight."
"I was honored to be a part of the evening and chose to follow the way they wished for this award to be presented.”
“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."
People on social media, however, don't feel Pacino owes anyone an apology...
But they appreciated him speaking out, regardless.
Oscars producer Molly McNearney told Variety that having Pacino not list the 10 nominees for Best Picture "was a creative decision" as the creative team was “very worried that the show was going to be long” and clips from all 10 best picture nominees had already played throughout the evening.
She added:
“By the time you get to the end of the show, you’ve seen all 10 best picture clip packages."
"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. We did not give him nominations to read. I apologize if our decision to not have to read through all those nominations put him in a tough spot.”
And there you have it.
