Bruce Broughton is defending his actions in promoting his original song from Alone Yet Not Alone in this year's Oscar race. The song received a nomination, but earlier this week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rescinded the nomination, citing an ethics violation in how Broughton promoted his song to voters.
Initially the Academy did not cite specific rules that were violated and it was unclear exactly how Broughton used his position as a former Academy governor and current executive committee member to gain an unfair advantage, as the Academy's Board of Governors claimed. Broughton has defended his actions in various television and print interviews.
Yesterday, the Board of Governors issued a statement to clarify its actions, though it is still unclear from their statement what information Broughton was allegedly privy to that other nominees were not.
Broughton has denied any wrongdoing and this weekend released a letter he wrote to the Academy defending his actions. That letter is reprinted below.
Letter from Bruce Broughton
Dear Teni [Melidonian, Academy Director of Communications],
I just looked at the Academy release of the rescinding of the nomination and came upon this line in the penultimate paragraph: "Members were asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five nominees in the category." This isn't at all accurate.
What the letter that Charlie Fox sent to accompany the DVD actually said was: "When making your voting selections, simply select up to five songs in order of your preference. We hope that you will watch (italics mine) the enclosed DVD and use it to better inform your voting decision."
Based upon that italicized phrase, I decided to send some emails.
Furthermore, if, as you quote the Academy's rules, "it is the Academy's goal to ensure that the Awards competition is conducted in a fair and ethical manner," and my 70 or so emails constitutes a breach of that standard, why could the current Academy president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, consult on Academy Award nominated projects like The Artist, The King's Speech and others with a history as an Academy governor that far exceeds mine and at the same time produce the Governors' Ball without having that look like a breach of the same standard?
I am of course copying Dawn Hudson [Academy CEO] on this email, and would have included Cheryl [Boone Isaacs] if I had had her email address.
Best regards,