K-Pop Demon Hunters star says Leonardo DiCaprio’s neutral face put her off Baftas performance: ‘He was not smiling’
K-Pop Demon Hunters star says Leonardo DiCaprio’s neutral face put her off Baftas performance: ‘He was not smiling’
Rachel McGrath Thu, August 13, 2026 at 12:57 PM UTC
0
K-Pop Demon Huntersstar Ejae has admitted she feels “haunted” by her performance at the Baftas earlier this year – claiming a poker-faced A-lister unwittingly put her off.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami – who provided the singing voices for the HUNTR/X girl group in Netflix’s animated film – performed the movie’s hit track “Golden” for the star-studded audience at the London ceremony in February.
But Ejae, real name Kim Eun-jae, has now confessed that she wasn’t too pleased with her own vocals, telling The Times: “The Batas haunt me. I made mistakes. I cracked a little bit on the high notes.”
Explaining what happened, the 34-year-old continued: “Leonardo DiCaprio was [in the audience] right in front of me, and he was not smiling.”
Ejae added that as she was singing one of the song’s highest notes, she looked directly at the One Battle After Another actor.
It was the first time the trio were performing ‘Golden’ outside the US (Bafta/YouTube)
“That’s what put me off,” she said. “He made me so nervous. It was already so nerve-racking to be in front of all these celebrities, and then I look up and lock eyes with Leonardo DiCaprio? Come on.”
Advertisement
Both the HUNTR/X singers and Titanic star DiCaprio were fixtures on the awards season circuit this year.
Released in 2025, K-Pop Demon Hunters fast became the most-watched film in Netflix’s history, amassing over 325 million official views, according to the streaming service. It followed up the astonishing viewing figures with plenty of accolades and Netflix has confirmed that a sequel is on the way.
DiCaprio at the Baftas (Getty)
While K-Pop Demon Hunters was deemed ineligible for the Baftas because it wasn’t released in cinemas, it was named Best Animated Film at the Golden Globes, with “Golden” – co-written by Ejae – winning Best Original Song from a Motion Picture.
The film and its songwriters walked away with the same accolades at the Oscars, where Ejae also got a second chance at performing in front of Leo. That time around, things went a little better and the 51-year-old actor was even spotted waving a K-Pop lightstick as he stood to applaud.
DiCaprio’s star turn as Bob Ferguson in Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed thriller One Battle After Another resulted in best actor nominations at all of this year’s major award ceremonies.
Ejae with her Academy Award (AFP/Getty)
The actor didn’t manage to get his hands on any major statuettes, though, with Robert Arayamo (I Swear) pipping him to the post at the Baftas, before Michael B Jordan (Sinners) was victorious at the Oscars.
The Golden Globes splits its acting awards into Drama, and Musical or Comedy categories, with DiCaprio’s performance submitted in the latter. On the night, he lost out to Marty Supreme’s Timothée Chalamet.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
