Disney Accused Of Censoring Anti-Putin Speech From Oscars Broadcast

The 2024 Academy Awards were a winner for the Walt Disney Company. The American television version drew 19.5 million viewers, the most since 2020, and Disney Entertainment sold out all of its ads for the broadcast.

Oppenheimer (2023) was the big winner, taking home seven Academy Awards. However, Walt Disney Studios was completely shut out from the awards, including Best Animated Film, which it usually dominates. Disney’s subsidiary, Fox Searchlight Films, did manage to take home four wins for Poor Things (2023).

The @WaltDisneyCo removed the nomination and award ceremony for the Best Documentary film from its shortened international version.
The film 20 Days in Mariupol by Mstyslav Chernov and Yevhen Malolietka won Oscar for the Best Documentary.
The film tells the story of the brutal… pic.twitter.com/BOAaxoaDps

— Ukraine Front Line (@EuromaidanPR) March 11, 2024

Related: Mark Hamill Is Saving Lives in Ukraine

But the night was not without controversy, other than Jimmy Kimmel’s shots at the former president. After the broadcast aired for American audiences, Disney Entertainment aired a shortened international version of the show.

Airing a shortened international TV version is not necessarily where the controversy comes from; it’s what Disney chose to cut from the broadcast. One of the categories that Disney cut was for Best Feature Documentary, which was won by Ukrainian Director Mstyslav Chernov and producer Yevhen Malolietka for their documentary 20 Days in Mariupol. 

When they won at the 96th Academy Awards, Chernov was critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.

Mstyslav Chernov, the director behind the Oscar-winning documentary film, told the audience:

I wish to be able to exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities. I wish to give all the recognition to Russia not killing tens of thousands of my fellow Ukrainians. I wish for them to release all the hostages, all the soldiers who are protecting the land, all the civilians who are now in their jails. But I cannot change the history. I cannot change the past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzUxiu_OAIE

Related: Ukrainian General Busts Out His Force Ghost, But Baby Yoda Rules the Day

Disney faced harsh criticism for cutting the category, especially given that Ukrainian viewers would not be allowed to see their countrymen triumph.

After the short version aired, executive producer Lukian Halkin said:

Our team was shocked and deeply disappointed when we did not see the category for best feature documentary in the international version, where 20 Days in Mariupol was justly awarded. Mstyslav Chernov’s powerful speech emphasized the unity between Ukraine and the world, which makes it all the more disappointing to see this episode full of truth and power excluded from the version distributed to the Oscar’s global licensees.

Disney Entertainment representatives later said their international partners prefer the 90-minute international TV version of the 96th Academy Awards. Disney also said that decisions on which categories to cut were made weeks before the international TV version aired and before they knew who would win.

However, while the shortened version was originally shown to Ukrainian viewers, the entire version of the show will be broadcast with the Best Feature Documentary category included.

According to PBS’ website, 20 Days in Mariupol captures the harrowing images of the besieged cities as the Russians begin their bombing campaign. The documentary film captures the horrors of the Russian invasion, including mass graves, dying children, and the bombing of a maternity ward.

We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.