Why did South Korea edit Michelle Yeoh’s Oscars speech? Local broadcaster SBS has been accused of ‘misogyny’ for omitting ‘ladies’ from the Everything Everywhere All at Once star’s Best Actress moment

Mar 16 , 2023

Michelle Yeoh accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for Everything Everywhere All at Once at the Oscars on March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Photo: AP

When SBS aired a clip of Yeoh’s Oscars acceptance speech for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, viewers didn’t get the full picture as the Korean channel omitted a key word: ‘ladies’

The broadcaster has come under fire online, with netizens branding the country ‘misogynistic’ following other incidents like Red Velvet’s Irene being slammed for reading a feminist book

Michelle Yeoh made history when she won the Oscar for best actress for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. As the first Asian woman ever to take home the Academy Award category’s prize, her achievement was widely lauded by fans across the world.

However, South Korean public broadcasting station SBS has come under fire for undermining her speech in the interest of “inclusivity”.

What went down

The 60-year-old Malaysian actress’ original speech was a moving one that gave a shout-out to all little children, mums and women out there. The line “And ladies, don’t let anyone tell you you are ever past your prime” struck a chord with many, but when SBS aired the coverage, they omitted the word “ladies” in the broadcast.

Netizens bite back

Many took to Twitter and other online communities to hit back at the broadcaster. They were outraged at the “erasure of women” and expressed concern for being “a misogynistic country”. Other Koreans pushed for the news to be covered by foreign media to bring more attention to the censorship. Internationally, some have been hitting back at the “insecurity of men”.

SBS’ response to accusations

Michelle Yeoh poses with the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for Everything Everywhere All at Once at the Governors Ball after the Oscars on March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Photo: AP

On March 15, SBS said in a statement that it had “no intention” of distorting Michelle Yeoh’s speech. The company claimed that Yeoh’s phrase was omitted by mistake during editing. They felt the main message to be delivered was how Yeoh overcame racial bias.