Nearly fifty years after being booed onstage at the Oscars for refusing an award on behalf of Marlon Brando in protest of Hollywood’s treatment of Native Americans, Sacheen Littlefeather has received an apology from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization announced Monday.
Apache and Yaqui actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather was booed at the 1973 ceremony when she explained why Marlon Brando, who did not attend, was unable to accept his Best Actor Oscar for The Godfather.
She later claimed that security guards had to stop western star John Wayne from physically assaulting her.
“It’s only been 50 years!”
“The insults you suffered because of this statement were misplaced and unwarranted,” the June letter from then-Academy President David Rubin said. “The emotional toll he has carried and the cost of his own career in our industry is irreparable.”
“For far too long, the courage he has shown has gone unrecognized. For that, we offer him our deepest apologies and (extend) our sincere admiration.”
The Academy released this letter when it announced that Sacheen Littlefeather was invited to speak at the Oscars museum in Los Angeles on September 17. “We Indians are very patient people. It’s only been 50 years!” Sacheen Littlefeather, now 75, reacted in a press release.
“We have to keep our sense of humor about it, all the time. It’s our means of survival,” he added. “It warms my heart to see how much has changed since I didn’t accept the Oscar 50 years ago.”
The museum, which opened its doors last September, vowed to confront the “troubled history” of the film industry, whether it was the racism that tainted gone With the Wind or recent controversies over the underrepresentation of women and minorities. She already talks about the welcome given to Sacheen Littlefeather at that famous evening in 1973.
Source: BFM TV
