Oscars sorry for 'tone deaf' portrayal of Asians at Academy Awards

Oscar organisers have apologised for what a group of actors and filmmakers of Asian descent called the "tone-deaf" portrayal of Asians during this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.

The Academy, which has pledged to double its numbers of women and minority members by 2020, on Tuesday said that it "regrets that any aspect of the Oscar telecast was offensive.

"We are committed to doing our best to ensure that material in future shows be more culturally sensitive" it said in a statement.

February’s Oscar ceremony was hosted by black comedian Chris Rock, who lambasted Hollywood for its lack of diversity and in particular the lack of African-Americans among the 20 acting nominees for a second straight year.

Members of the Asian community were upset after the show at a skit in which Rock introduced three Asian children as Academy accountants.

In another part of the ceremony, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, appearing as a presenter, made an apparently off the cuff remark about the size of Asian genitalia.

In a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, double Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, Star Trek actor George Takei and more than 20 other people criticised the "tasteless and offensive skits" regarding Asians and asked to ensure that people of all races are portrayed with dignity. http://www.waptrendz.com/music/latestmp3

"In light of criticism over Oscars So White, we were hopeful that the telecast would provide the Academy a way forward and the chance to present a spectacular example of inclusion and diversity. Instead, the Oscars show was marred by a tone-deaf approach to its portrayal of Asians," said the letter.

"We’d like to know how such tasteless and offensive skits could have happened and what process you have in place to preclude such unconscious or outright bias and racism toward any group in future Oscars telecasts," said the letter.

The letter was also signed by former Grey’s Anatomy star Sandra Oh, France Nuyen of The Joy Luck Club as well as documentary makers and producers, all of whom are already Academy members.

The origin of the name Oscar is disputed. One biography of Bette Davis, who was a president of the Academy claims that she named the Oscar after her first husband, band leader Harmon Oscar Nelson; one of the earliest mentions in print of the term Oscar dates back to a Time magazine article about the 1934 6th Academy Awards. Walt Disney is also quoted as thanking the Academy for his Oscar as early as 1932. Another claimed origin is that the Academy's Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, first saw the award in 1931 and made reference to the statuette's reminding her of her "Uncle Oscar" (a nickname for her cousin Oscar Pierce).[19] Columnist Sidney Skolsky was present during Herrick's naming and seized the name in his byline, "Employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette 'Oscar'". The trophy was officially dubbed the "Oscar" in 1939 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.