LOS ANGELES: Oscar organisers on March 15 apologised for what a group of actors and film-makers of Asian descent called the “tone-deaf” portrayal of Asians during this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. In a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, double Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, Star Trek actor George Takei and more than 20 other people criticised the “tasteless and offensive skits” regarding Asians and asked to ensure that people of all races are portrayed with dignity. “In light of criticism over #OscarsSoWhite, we were hopeful that the telecast would provide the Academy a way forward and the chance to present a spectacular example of inclusion and diversity. Instead, the Oscars show was marred by a tone-deaf approach to its portrayal of Asians,” said the letter. The Academy apologised saying, in a statement that it “regrets that any aspect of the Oscar telecast was offensive. We are committed to doing our best to ensure that material in future shows be more culturally sensitive”. The letter writers gave no details of their objections. But members of the Asian community were upset after the show at a skit in which Chris Rock introduced three Asian children as Academy accountants. In another part of the ceremony, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, appearing as a presenter, made an apparently off the cuff remark about the size of Asian genitalia.