Erin Brockovich is one of the most memorable movies from the turn of the millennium and rightfully so. At its heart is Julia Roberts at her very best — a performance that landed her her first and only Academy Award. The real woman whose life the film borrows from, however, was strangely left out of the actress’ acceptance speech.
The biographical legal drama tells the story of struggling single mother of three Erin Brockovich who was employed by her lawyer Ed Masry after he failed to win a lawsuit she had filed for a car accident. While working as a paralegal, Brockovich comes across a case concerning Pacific Gas and Electric and discovers that the company had been contaminating the groundwater of the Hinkley community with a carcinogenic chemical, making hundreds of its residents sick. She eventually builds a major class action lawsuit against PG&E.
While not every little detail in the film is accurate, the remarkability of the real-life story made for a must-watch film about a swelling David and Goliath kind of narrative.
Has Julia Roberts ever explained why she didn’t thank Erin Brockovich in her Oscars speech?
Julia Roberts went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001. She was visibly flustered with emotion on stage as she tried to come up with a coherent speech and ended up completely omitting the real-life Erin Brockovich from her acknowledgments and thank yous.
She thanked her family, the cast, crew, and producers of Erin Brockovich, and left a special mention for director Steven Soderbergh, but nothing for the film’s subject. Several sources reported at the time that she apologized for the omission as soon as she left the stage.
As per a United Press International article from 2001, Roberts said the “out of body experience” of winning caused her to forget. “I didn’t acknowledge her – shamefully, shamefully – and really, she’s the center of the universe which was our movie,” the star expressed, adding “With great humility. I apologize profusely.”
Rumors swirled at the time that Roberts had purposefully stirred clear of the Erin Brockovich and PG&E topics because of the power crisis affecting California during March of 2001. According to a 23-year-old Slate piece, the energy company was being affected by its suppliers’ “market manipulation” which had increased its expenses to the point of near-bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Brockovich was in the middle of another lawsuit involving actor Tom Selleck’s bother Robert for selling her a home that she said was filled with mold.
All was well in the end as Brockovich told Vulture she wasn’t affected by Roberts’ blunder. “A lot of people were like, ‘I can’t believe she didn’t mention you in her speech!’ I thought nothing of it. This wasn’t about me,” the paralegal said, “It was Julia’s moment, it didn’t even phase me.” She didn’t attend the Oscars that evening because, in a scene that would perfectly fit the film, one of her children was sick.