The 98th Academy Awards produced a memorable if mixed evening for the creative team behind the animated hit KPop Demon Hunters. On 15 March the film earned the trophy for Best Animated Feature, and its anthem “Golden” — performed on screen by the fictional group Huntrix — captured the Oscar for Best Original Song. That victory marked a milestone as members of the songwriting roster became the first people of Korean descent to win in that song category in the Academy’s long history. The celebration, however, was complicated by a controversial interruption during the acceptance speech for the song, which was cut short on the Dolby Theatre stage.
Onstage to accept the music prize were the credited creators: singer-songwriter EJAE, co-writer Mark Sonnenblick, producer Teddy Park, members of the collective IDO (including YUHAN, ZHUN, and NHD), and 24 (Jeong Hun-seol). While the film’s directors, Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, accepted the Best Animated Feature award earlier without incident, the music team were interrupted after their win. Viewers and attendees alike noticed the abrupt musical cue that overlaid the winners’ remarks and hastened their exit from the stage, a production choice that quickly drew audible disapproval from the audience.
A historic double victory
The evening was significant beyond the cutoff moment: KPop Demon Hunters left with two of the night’s most visible trophies, and the song “Golden” became a rare cross-cultural success that bridged animation, soundtrack, and global pop influence. In her emotional onstage words, EJAE thanked the Academy and spoke to her personal journey, describing how liking K-pop as a child could be mocked and how this recognition felt like proof of resilience. The film’s direction and writing were similarly lauded when Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans dedicated the animated feature award to Korean communities worldwide. These moments emphasized why the wins mattered both artistically and culturally.
A disrupted acceptance and immediate reaction
After Lionel Ritchie announced the song as the winner, onstage comments began with EJAE and continued as YUHAN unfurled notes and started to speak. The orchestra or ceremony music soon rose, cutting into onstage remarks and prompting visible attempts by Mark Sonnenblick to halt the interruption. Clips circulated showing him gesturing energetically toward stage staff as the winners were escorted into the press area. The audience response in the theatre included audible boos, and social media reacted swiftly, criticizing what many called an unnecessarily rude handling of a high-emotion, historic moment.
Backstage and the press-room finish
Once in the press area the team was able to complete parts of the speeches that had been lost onstage. In that press room setting, YUHAN finished thanking collaborators and family members, calling the award an “incredible honour,” while Mark Sonnenblick used his time to spotlight the collaborative nature of the film and to thank his husband, Isaac, who attended the ceremony. Sonnenblick elaborated on the movie’s themes — learning to trust and even love those you have been taught to fear — and framed the victory as a collective achievement that extended to animators, vocal contributors and fans who helped the soundtrack resonate.
Audience and online responses
Public reaction quickly unfolded across platforms: many viewers defended the winners’ right to finish their acceptance speeches and suggested producers might have trimmed scripted segments elsewhere to preserve artists’ time. Comments ranged from calls for greater respect for international creators to critiques of the ceremony’s scheduling pressures and broadcast-driven edits. Inside the Dolby Theatre, the boos underscored a sense among attendees that the moment belonged to the creators, not to the clock, and online threads amplified that sentiment with users calling the early cutoff “disrespectful” and urging more thoughtful pacing at live awards shows.
What the moment means going forward
The incident leaves organizers with questions about how to balance a complex live broadcast format against the importance of honoring winners, especially those representing diverse cultures and languages. For the artists involved — EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Teddy Park, members of IDO, and 24 — the accolades remain historic: a double win for their film and a breakthrough for representation in a high-profile awards setting. Even with the interruption, the core message of collaboration, resilience and cross-cultural storytelling came through as the creators completed their thanks in the press area, ensuring that their voices and gratitude were still heard and widely shared.