Sacheen Littlefeather Says 1973 John Wayne Incident Was 'Most Violent Moment' in Oscars History

Sacheen Littlefeather is addressing her claim that John Wayne attempted to rush the stage and pull her off at the 45th Academy Awards.

In 1973, Littlefeather, 75, stood on the Oscars stage on behalf of Marlon Brando to turn down his Best Actor award for his performance in The Godfather, using the speech to call out the film industry's treatment of Native Americans.

The protest garnered mixed reactions from the audience. She later said that Wayne was restrained by six men backstage for trying to storm the stage at the time.

RELATED: Everything to Know About the Academy's Mistreatment of Sacheen Littlefeather at the 1973 Oscars

"I remember the faces in the crowd," Littlefeather recalled three decades after the event took place. "John Wayne, backstage, had to be restrained by six men from coming to get me and pull me off the stage."

In an interview with Variety published Tuesday, Littlefeather recalled, "I heard a disturbance from behind me as I was speaking up at the podium. I found out that [Wayne] had been restrained by six security men from assaulting me while I was on that stage."

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She then called it "the most violent moment that had ever taken place at the Academy Awards."

Littlefeather said she was informed about what was going on backstage by a security guard, noting, "But it was never publicized."

"He was never admonished by the Academy. It was never published in the press," she explained. "But the most violent moments took place then and there at the Academy Awards by John Wayne."

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Following her Oscars appearance, she told Variety that she was "boycotted by the FBI," adding: "They went around Hollywood and told people not to hire me. If they did, they would shut their film production down."

"In addition, other people were let on talk shows like Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, and other popular talk shows. They could go on there and talk about me, but I was never allowed to go on them and represent myself," she said.

According to Entertainment Weekly, late actor Wayne previously said of Littlefeather's speech, "If [Brando] had something to say, he should have appeared that night and stated his views instead of taking some little unknown girl and dressing her up in an Indian outfit."

Representatives for Wayne's family did not immediately return PEOPLE's request for comment.

RELATED VIDEO: Academy Honors Sacheen Littlefeather with 'Long Overdue' Apology After Mistreatment at 1973 Oscars

In June, Littlefeather received an apology letter from then-Academy president David Rubin for the mistreatment she received at the 45th Oscars.

In the letter, Rubin wrote in part: "The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified. The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged. For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration."

Littlefeather will be honored during an event on Sept. 17 at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, where the statement of apology will be read in full, and she will participate in a conversation with producer Bird Runningwater, co-chair of the Academy's Indigenous Alliance.