Al Pacino is finally explaining what led to his abrupt announcement of “Oppenheimer” as the Best Picture winner at the 96th Academy Awards. On Sunday night, the “Scarface” actor presented the final award at the Oscars and left many confused when he didn’t announce all 10 nominated films and omitted the customary, “And the Oscar goes to.'” Instead, he said, “And my eyes see ‘Oppenheimer,'” which prompted a brief moment of silence from the audience until everyone realized the winner had been revealed. On Monday, the 83-year-old released a statement, clarifying why he didn’t read the full list of nominees. “There seems to be some controversy about my not mentioning every film by name last night before announcing the best picture award,” he wrote in part. “I just want to be clear it was not my intention to omit them, rather a choice by the producers not to have them said again since they were highlighted individually throughout the ceremony. I was honored to be a part of the evening and chose to follow the way they wished for this award to be presented,” he added.
