Academy Apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather for Her Mistreatment at the 1973 Oscars (Exclusive)

[tenderfoot]

The first time Sacheen Littlefeather encountered the Academy, in 1973, she was booed onstage at the Oscars, heckled with mock ululations and so-called “tomahawk chops” offstage, and threatened with arrest and physical assault.

Nearly half a century later, she will return to the Academy as an invited guest of honor for an evening of reflection at the Academy Museum, featuring something she never dared to imagine: a formal apology from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

:snip:

Littlefeather’s 60-second plea for justice resulted in immediate and enduring personal backlash. She says that in the wings, John Wayne had to be restrained from storming the stage to physically attack her, while in the aftermath, her identity and integrity were impugned (the rumors were so abiding that in 2012, Dennis Miller mocked Elizabeth Warren by calling her “as much Indian as that stripper chick Brando sent to pick up his Oscar”). Littlefeather, who had acted in a few films before her infamous moment, says that the federal government threatened to shut down any talk shows or productions that put her on the air.

“The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified,” then-Academy president David Rubin wrote in the organization’s apology letter, dated June 18. “The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sacheen-littlefeather-oscars-apology-1235198863/

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread tenderfoot.

[Withywindle]

2. almost 50 years too late, but alright

Glad they didn't wait until she passed away.

[sheshe2]

6. Agreed and Recommend!

[LeftInTX]

21. Sadly, she has terminal lung cancer

[Withywindle]

35. oh no, I'm sorry to hear that.

Well, at least she gets her long-overdue apology now.

[sybylla]

41. Right?

This shouldn't have taken so long.

[Aristus]

3. John Wayne attacking a defenseless woman seems right up his alley.

Cowardly yellowbelly on-screen tough guy didn't have the stones to serve in World War II. But is still held up as an American ideal of masculinity by the toxic types.

[tenderfoot]

4. Trumbo vs John Wayne

Really hope this scene actually happened:

?t=80

[Aristus]

7. Love that movie!

Bryan Cranston is the best!

[sheshe2]

8. Toxic white masculinity.

[Aristus]

9. Yep.

He's definitely the OG.

[sheshe2]

11. Sigh

[whathehell]

12. Toxic Masculinity comes in all colors. n/t

[sheshe2]

13. True

[whathehell]

14. Yes.

[tenderfoot]

15. In this instance it's of the white, racist, draft dodger variety

eom

[whathehell]

16. I'm aware of that.

[tenderfoot]

17. Yes.

[whathehell]

26. Uh huh.

[LeftInTX]

23. Jerkass

I would like to see his family apologize on his behalf!

[Skittles]

24. shitty actor too

I HATED his whiny voice

[soldierant]

32. There's a story

that John Ford was asked how he had gotten any kind of a performance out of Wayne. He took the questioner to a screening room and, first asking him to count Wayne's lines, showed him "Stagecoach." Afterwards,Ford asked how many times Wayne spoke (and I forget the exact number, but it was a single digit.) "That's how you do it," said Ford. "You don't let them talk."

[Sky Jewels]

25. Fucking John Wayne.

I've despised him since I was a little girl. I think he's part of the reason I became a liberal as a young teen.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

28. Mr. He-Man...

[SergeStorms]

40. Marion Morrison.

Whenever someone brings up "John Wayne" I always remind them of his actual name.

I hated that SOB from the first time I laid eyes on him. He was a terrible actor and an even worse human being.

To this day I can honestly say I've never watched any movie he was in. I might have seen his ugly mug while channel surfing in the days before cable, but now that I can see who's in a movie before selecting the channel, I can go to my grave without ever being subjected to that hideous poser.

[canuckledragger]

30. You beat me to that comment!

I've heard this story before and that was my first thought about JW as well, given his history of cowardice and tough guy posturing.

[dflprincess]

36. The Birdcage - Walk Like John Wayne

[burrowowl]

39. I love that scene! Funny as hell!

[RussellCattle]

5. She has a kind face.

[LeftInTX]

20. She does

[LeftInTX]

10. Brando should have been with her at the ceremony and he should have rejected his own Oscar

He sent her up there alone, which made her more vulnerable.

He didn't have the balls to deal with his fellow actors himself.

Apology long overdue.

[lpbk2713]

18. I remember seeing that.

I was appalled to witness that sort of reaction from that sort of audience.

[spanone]

19. ...K&R...

I was watching that night

[JI7]

22. Fuck John Wayne.

[Sky Jewels]

27. ...with a large saguaro cactus.

[niyad]

29. I was watching that night, and I was horrified by the reaction to her, which was

NOT immediately called out. Probably the last one I watched in its entirety, although I have seen bits and pieces of others over the years.

[Kablooie]

31. I was there at the Academy Awards that night.

I was a costumed character at Disneyland and it was Disney's 50th anniversary so we did a dance number with all the characters. I was the Mad Hatter.

When she accepted for Marlon Brando I was almost under her feet in the green room, watching the show on a TV monitor along with all the other dancers.

I saw John Wayne later that night as we left. He was standing by the exit door and seemed in a good mood and said, "You kids did a great job. Great job." I didn't know anything about his reaction to her until much later.

There is a documentary about her that was supposed to have it's premier screening the week that Los Angeles locked down. I had planned to go but of course it was cancelled. I'm glad the Academy finally resolving this issue.

[Skittles]

33. wow!

love first-hand stories!

tell me you had nothing to do with the Rob Lowe Snow White thing

[Kablooie]

37. 1989, I left Disneyland in 1975, so nope. That wasn't my fault.

[Stinky The Clown]

34. Noble and beautiful, then and now

[elleng]

38. ;-(

[UTUSN]

42. Fuck john Wayne, Walter brennan, Gary cooper, etc.

[tenderfoot]

43. Had no idea Brennan was such an evil f*ck

[LeftInTX]

45. Gary Cooper defended a screenwriter who had been a member of the Communist Party.

He risked having his passport revoked because of it too. Also he died in 1961, so he would not have been on the scene in the 60s. He campaigned for John Dewey, but John Dewey wasn't crazy.


In 1951, while making High Noon, Cooper became friends with the film's screenwriter, Carl Foreman, who had been a member of the Communist Party. When Foreman was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee, Cooper put his career on the line to defend Foreman. When John Wayne and others threatened Cooper with blacklisting himself and the loss of his passport if he did not walk off the film, Cooper gave a statement to the press in support of Foreman, calling him "the finest kind of American". When producer Stanley Kramer removed Foreman's name as screenwriter, Cooper and director Fred Zinnemann threatened to walk off the film if Foreman's name was not restored. Foreman later said that, of all his friends and allies and colleagues in Hollywood, "Cooper was the only big one who tried to help. The only one."[365] Cooper even offered to testify in Foreman's behalf before the committee, but character witnesses were not allowed. Foreman always sent future scripts to Cooper for first refusal, including The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Key, and The Guns of Navarone. Cooper had to turn them down because of his age.[366]

Walter Brennan was nasty and vile. And a member of the John Birch Society. He was just an awful person.

[UTUSN]

47. I don't know everything about everything!

[EnergizedLib]

44. Disgusting, but not surprising

About John Wayne.

And I’m sure his fans will exclaim this as another example of Hollywood wokeness.

Because John Wayne was so masculine he’d want to do such a thing, right?

I hope Sacheen has and will continue to live out her days as well as she can.

[LeftInTX]

46. I could never stand Marlon Brando. He should have been there that evening with her.

He could have declined his Oscar, stated why and then let Ms Littlefeather speak to explain what was going on with the Native American community. Instead he left her up there all by herself.

I find Marlon Brando to be repugnant. He abused his kids and all the women in his life.
He may have been a liberal politically, but he was repulsive person who treated his kids like shit.
He treated women horribly.

He even took a picture of his d____ and circulated it publicly. As to whether it was really his, one could speculate, but he said it was his. It was pretty disgusting. Then he circulated a pic of himself sucking on someone and later claimed he was sucking on Wally Cox's cock. Of course Wally Cox was dead, so he couldn't defend himself from the grave. Additionally, him and Cox grew up together. Brando tied Cox to a tree and left him there.

Conceited guy who thought his s___ was good enough to eat!