Sacheen Littlefeather says she was blacklisted by Hollywood after her 1973 Oscars speech

Native American actor Sacheen Littlefeather had rejected the Academy Award on behalf of Marlon Brando for his role in The Godfather. Sacheen's 1973 Oscars speech did not do any good, as it ended her career in Hollywood. The actor recently opened up about how the incident ended her career in her documentary Sacheen: Breaking The Silence.

Sacheen Littlefeather reveals the outcomes of her Oscar speech

Sacheen Littlefeather was sent by Marlon Brando to refuse the Academy Award for the Best Actor for his performance in the film The Godfather. Sacheen, in her speech, said Marlon had refused to accept the award due to the treatment of American Indians by the film industry. In her speech, at the Oscars, Sacheen first introduced herself and said she was an Apache and the president of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. 

She then continued and said, Marlon Brando has sent her to the award ceremony with a long speech which she couldn't read at the moment due to the shortage of time but would share it with the press afterwards. She then revealed that Marlon Brando cannot accept the award very regretfully due to the treatment American Indians receive from the film industry. She asked the audience who started booing her to excuse her. After a pause, she ended her speech by hoping the Native Americans will receive respect in the film industry. 

The 74-year-old revealed in her documentary that she was the first Native American woman to make such a political speech at the Academy Awards. According to a report by Deadline, she also revealed she was praised by Marlon Brando for her speech who supported the protest against the film industry for Native Americans. Yet she felt abandoned by The Godfather actor later when she faced the public fall-out. The actor then revealed the criticism she faced led to her being blacklisted by Hollywood. After the 1973 Oscars speech, Littlefeather never got a chance to act again. She also revealed that Oscars 1973 was the first ceremony to be broadcasted through satellite which was the reason Brando chose it for his protest.

Promo Image Source: Oscars' YouTube channel