Oscars Boss Responds After 'Golden' Songwriters Were Cut Off During Acceptance Speech

The 2026 Oscars producers are addressing an awkward moment from Sunday night’s (March 15) ceremony.

During the broadcast, the songwriters behind the Best Original Song winner “Golden” including EJAE were abruptly cut off by the orchestra while delivering their acceptance speech, and were unable to finish speaking.

The moment quickly went viral on social media, with many viewers angrily questioning why the music started before everyone onstage had a chance to talk.

Keep reading to find out more…

Rob Mills, executive vice president of unscripted and alternative entertainment at Walt Disney Television, addressed the situation in an interview with Variety.

“One thing, as we post mortem for next year, will be to look at how we’re handling speeches,” he said.

“You win the Oscar, you know you go on stage, it could be one person, it could be five or six. Immediately you’ll see the sort of allotted time we have for them. Do we need to look at it and say, okay, designate one person to speak. Maybe you continue it backstage, and we have a feed on social or something like that. We look at everything and figure out what is the most elegant solution, because it is difficult, especially when you’re cutting somebody off and it’s their one moment,” he continued.

“We talk about it at the award luncheon, that you have this designated time to speak, and it’s difficult. I don’t know what the most elegant solution is, but it’s obviously something we should look really, really long and hard at.”

Find out why EJAE won the Oscar, but her HUNTR/X bandmates did not.