“Couldn't handle having 3 POC winning on the same night”: Viral video claiming racism at 2023 Oscars goes viral 

A video from the 2023 Oscars showing Indian film producer Guneet Monga being cut off from delivering her winning speech went viral online and sparked claims of racism against The Academy.

TikTok user @/iam7evn pointed out that Monga and filmmaker Kartiki Gonsalves took the stage after winning the Oscar Award for Documentary Short Subject film for The Elephant Whisperers. Gonsalves then shared her 43-second Oscars acceptance speech, saying:

"I stand here today to speak for the sacred bond between us and our natural world, for the respect of indigenous communities, and empathy towards other living beings we share space with and finally, for coexistence. Thank you to the Academy for recognising our film, highlighting indigenous people and animals.”

The director also thanked Netflix, her producer, her mentor, the “entire team” behind the film and her family. However, TikToker @/iam7evn noted that when producer Guneet Monga took over the mic to share a few words, she “immediately” received the “music of shame” signaling her to “get off the stage.”

Shortly after, Charles Mackesy and Matthew Freud went up to the stage to receive the Oscar Award for Best Animated Short film for The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. However, both the British men were allowed to deliver their respective speeches without being called off the stage.

In the viral TikTok video, user @/iam7evn questions:

“What’s the difference? This was back-to-back! Why is the Indian woman silenced and the white British man gets to say whatever he wants to say?”

The TikToker even shared Guneet Monga’s speech that was originally cut off from the Oscars 2023 event. In the clip, she was heard saying:

“Tonight is historic! This is the first Oscar for any Indian production and two women here won this. I just want to say to everyone watching, the future is audacious and the future is us and the future is here.”

Meanwhile, the Academy also continued to face major criticism for Jamie Lee Curtis winning the Oscar Award for Best Supporting Actress over Angela Bassett and Stephanie Hsu.

Twitter user @/ithanVega claimed that Curtis won in the category because voters at the Oscars “couldn't handle having 3 POC (Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh & Angela Bassett) winning on the same night”:

In the wake of the 95th Academy Awards, a video of Angela Bassett's reaction during Jamie Lee Curtis’ win also went viral on social media.

The clip showed Bassett having an almost blank expression on her face following the announcement. The Black Panther star did not clap and remained seated with a presumably brief sad smile on her face.

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Twitter reacts to claims of alleged racism at the 2023 Oscars

The 2023 Oscars sparked claims of racism online after Jamie Lee Curtis’ Best Supporting Actress win over Angela Bassett and Stephanie Hsu left several fans disappointed.

The allegations further intensified after a video showing The Elephant Whisperers producer Guneet Monga’s acceptance speech after India’s historic win being cut off from the event went viral online.

Several social media users also took to Twitter to call out the Academy for cutting off Monga's speech:

Meanwhile, others continued to share their disappointment with Jamie Lee Curtis’ win over Angela Bassett:

Although Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh made history by winning the leading awards at the 2023 Oscars, questions surrounding racism have continued to make the rounds online.

Back in 2015, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite went viral after it was revealed that the majority of the voters (and winners) were predominantly Caucasian males. According to The Time, despite attempts to expand the Academy membership, 81% of voters identify as white and 67% as male.