Jared Leto’s Ukraine Shout-Out at Oscars Did Not Air in Russia
By the time the 2014 Academy Awards broadcast made it to Russia on Monday, one curious facet of Jared Leto’s acceptance speech was mysteriously missing: his shout-out to Ukraine. Now the state-run Russian TV network Channel One is at once confirming that the missive did not make it to the country’s cinephiles, while denying responsibility for the excision, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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As part of his acceptance space for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Dallas Buyers Club, Leto voiced support for Ukraine, which is currently facing possible military action from Russia following the impeachment of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich. “To all the dreamers out there around the world watching this tonight, in places like the Ukraine and Venezuela, I want to say, ‘We are here, and as you struggle to make your dreams happen, to live the impossible, we’re thinking of you tonight.'”
The channel had canceled a live broadcast of the awards ceremony shortly before it was set to air on Sunday, instead opting to run a broadcast of it the next day. As it happens, its intention in preempting the show was so that it could focus the crisis in Ukraine. That change, they said, led to making some adjustments.
Spokesperson Larisa Krymova told THR, “The channel aired a 90-minute international version of the Oscar ceremony, which was not to be cut and was provided by the rights holder.”
Separate from the Oscars controversy, Channel One, along with two other state-run Russian TV networks, recently responded to a request from Ukrainian media to avoid bias when reporting on the crisis with their own request to Ukraine to do the same. The Russian networks said they were not creating any obstacles for Ukrainian journalists who were working in their country.