Emma Stone Apologized for “Aloha” During Sandra Oh’s Golden Globes Speech

January 7, 2019

Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg kicked off the 2019 Golden Globe Awards with some serious snark. Oh took aim at Hollywood whitewashing, joking that Crazy Rich Asians is “the first studio film with an Asian American lead since Ghost in the Shell and Aloha.”

While the camera didn’t cut to the audience, you can very clearly hear Emma Stone yell, “I’m sorry!” as the audience laughs and Oh places her hands over her heart. Later that night, Stone confirmed she was the one to yell out the apology, telling the Los Angeles Times, “It wasn’t like I planned it, but I did say it.” Listen for yourself below.

If you’re not familiar, the films Ghost in the Shell and Aloha star Scarlett Johansson and Emma Stone respectively. In Ghost in the Shell, Johansson plays the soul of a Japanese woman in a robot body. Meanwhile, in Aloha, Stone plays a partially Hawaiian and Chinese character. Considering both actresses are white, things get a little problematic.

Since starring in the 2015 film, Stone had received significant backlash, telling news.com.au, “I’ve become the butt of many jokes.” The Hollywood A-lister also told the Australian news outlet, “I’ve learned on a macro level about the insane history of whitewashing in Hollywood and how prevalent the problem truly is. It’s ignited a conversation that’s very important.”

While we’re all for Stone’s apology (and for admitting taking the role in Aloha wasn’t the best move), it’s important to remember that Asians are still grossly underrepresented in film, television, and more. In fact, just 4.4 percent of speaking characters across 2014’s top 100 grossing movies were Asian. In 2016, that number dropped to 3.1. When it comes to representation, Crazy Rich Asians was a huge step in the right direction, but Hollywood still had a lot of work to do.