Guneet Monga was ‘disheartened’ after her Oscar speech was cut off: ‘This was India's moment taken away’

Guneet Monga is finally speaking out after herOscar speech was cut off. At the 95th Academy Awards, history was made when an Indian documentary, The Elephant Whisperers won an Oscar. Guneet Monga and Director Kartiki Gonsalves were on cloud nine as they took the Academy stage to accept the Golden trophy, but everything went awkward when Monga's speech was abruptly cut offwhen she was standing just in front of the microphone.

However, the moment went unnoticed by many at that time, but some hawk-eye netizens were quick to point out the absurd thing that happened with Monga. Several people spoke out in support of Monga, saying that it was unfair, as they slammed the Academy and called it a racist act.

Guneet:I am very disappointed that my speech was cut

Now Guneet is back in India and during her interview with The Times of India, the producer opened up about the moment that happened with her on the stage and said she was ‘extremely disheartened’.

“I am very disappointed that my speech was cut. The shock was written on my face. I just wanted to say that it’s India’s first Oscar in an Indian production, which is a big deal. My heart started racing because I couldn’t have gotten this far without being heard.''

After The Elephant Whisperers won, both Kartiki and Guneet took the stage to accept the award. Kartiki delivered her acceptance speech first, as Monga stood behind her, all delighted and ready to speak.

However, when Guneet was about to speak, the live orchestra played, indicating them to get off the stage. Monga, who was standing in front of the mike, all ready to speak, looked disappointed, however, she instantly lifted up the golden trophy before leaving the stage.

The moment has been criticised by many people, who felt that she should have been given time to speak. Reacting to the online talks and the backlash Academy is facing, Monga said, ''Western media is tearing up The Academy, which I wasn’t allowed to talk about. People are so offended that I didn’t get a chance to give my speech. There are videos and tweets on the internet expressing my disappointment at not being able to speak. That was the moment of India that was taken from me.''

Adding further, Monga told the publication,''But then I thought, okay, I’ll come back here and make sure they listen to me. I have multiple opportunities to share my thoughts and it is uplifting to receive all the love. So a little empathy can go a long way here!”

Netizens outrage:

Many people on TikTok have expressed their disappointment and shared that Monga was asked to leave even when she had enough time left for the speech. The Oscars have a 45-second rule for the acceptance speech, and as per the calculations done by TikTok users, Gonsalves took exactly 43 seconds.

However, at the same time, a pair of white British filmmakers, who won immediately after Monga, were given more time to speak.

The awkward moment has sparked outrage across social media, with many people calling out the Academy for being biased.

For the unversed, this was Monga's second Oscar. She won her first Golden Statue in 2019 for the documentary short film, Period: End of SentencebyIranian American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabch.