Golden Globes 2019: Emma Stone Shouts 'I'm Sorry!' As Sandra Oh References 2015 'Whitewashing' Controversy

Emma Stone was heard shouting an apology from her seat in the audience at the Golden Globes, when her controversial appearance in the film ‘Aloha’ was mentioned by host Sandra Oh.

Back in 2015, Emma appeared in the role of a part-Hawaiian and part-Chinese woman in ‘Aloha’, a move which faced a lot of criticism, with many accusing the filmmakers of whitewashing.

While Golden Globes presenter Sandra Oh’s opening monologue was mostly a celebration of the strong film and TV that we’ve been treated to in the last year, the ‘Killing Eve’ star couldn’t resist a dig at Emma when the subject of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ came up.

“[Crazy Rich Asians] was the first studio film with an Asian-American lead since Ghost in the Shell,” she joked, referencing a Scarlett Johansson film which also faced accusations of whitewashing, before adding: “And Aloha.”

At that point, Emma was heard loudly apologising from the audience, although this actually isn’t the first time she’s expressed remorse over taking the role in ‘Aloha’.

She said shortly after the film came out that, after being the “butt of so many jokes”: “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.”

Emma had been nominated at this year’s Golden Globes for her supporting role in ‘The Favourite’, and while she ultimately lost out to Regina King of ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, her co-star Olivia Colman was named Best Actress later in the evening, and gave what was definitely one of our favourite speeches of the night.