'Kpop Demon Hunters' faces major setback despite being 2026 Oscar winners

KPop Demon Hunters faced a setback during their winning speech at the Oscars.

As the songwriting team for the record-breaking track, Golden, accepted their trophy for Best Original Song, they were cut off mid-acceptance speech.

Considering that EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park is the team that has worked on a song which is the first ever K-pop track to win in Oscar history, they had a lot to say on stage.

However, they were played off as soon as Lee took the microphone, cutting to an abrupt commercial break, prompting gasps from many backstage reporters.

During their visit backstage, EJAE elaborated on what the team wasn’t able to finish in their televised speech.

“We feel very grateful and very honored. We all worked so hard and this is such a collaborative effort, we just need to thank our directors. They created a beautiful film. Everyone was a part of it and we are just so happy that the hard work paid off.” the singer said.

“Also, I needed to thank Rei Ami and Audrey Nuna onstage, but I didn’t get to because they just cut us off. They killed it with their singing and they’re just incredible people and I love them so much,” she added.

Lee also finished what he had to say backstage. “I would like to thank all our families, my fellow Idol members and Teddy Park. This is an incredible honor,” he said.

Sonnenblick, who also didn’t get a chance to speak, added: “[I’d like to thank] my family, some of whom are here tonight, my husband, Isaac, who is here tonight. But also, just to say everybody who worked on this movie, all the animators, it was a real collaboration across the board. It’s a movie where part of the movie is about looking at someone that you have been taught to hate and to fear and starting to trust, maybe even love them. And that’s part of what the movie is about.”

“[The song lyrics are not] ‘I’m going up, up, up.’ It’s ‘We’re going up, up, up.’ And that’s part of the reason that we’re [here] right now. So, thanks to the fans too who have loved this movie and made it into what it is and the soundtrack,” he told the reporters backstage.

It is also pertinent to mention that KPop Demon Hunters also bagged the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.