In possibly one of the most awkward screw-ups in the history of live entertainment, Oscars presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beaty wrongly announced La La Land as this year’s best picture winner before it was revealed the little statue should have gone to Moonlight.
At the center of the confusion? A little red envelope that ended up in the wrong hands. So what happened?
- There were two sets of envelopes
Two representatives from accountancy firm PwC are in charge of counting the ballots and each receives a set of envelopes containing cards with the winner’s names for every category.
During the ceremony, they stand on either side of the stage and hand the presenters their envelopes right before they get on stage to announce the category winners.
As she was stepping in, it seems like Warren Beaty was mistakenly handed the second envelope for Best Actress, which Emma Stone had just won minutes before, instead of the Best Picture envelope.
This would explain why a flummoxed Emma Stone later said backstage that she was “holding [her] best actress card the whole time so whatever story you heard, I don’t know what happened, but I wanted to tell you that.”
- Dazed and confused
The La La Land crew were right in the middle of their acceptance speeches when a ceremony official walked on stage to tell them that they had been a mix-up.
La La Land‘s producer Fred Berger was busy telling the world profound truisms ( “Repression is the enemy of civilization, so keep dreaming”) when the crowd behind him became agitated, at which point he blurted: “We lost by the way but you know.”
His co-producer Jordan Horowitz then said: “Guys, I’m sorry, no, there’s a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won best picture.”
“This is not a joke, Moonlight has won best picture.” He then held the up the correct card in front of the cameras to show he was right.
The whole thing was positively cringe-worthy.
Warren Beatty then took the mic back to explain he had been given an envelope that read “La La Land — Emma Stone”
“That is why I took such a long look at Faye,” the actor continued. “I wasn’t trying to be funny”
In a statement, PwC said “sincerely” apologized for the mistake and were “currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred.”
- This is not the first time a wrong winner is announced
In a memorable flub, in 2015, Miss Colombia was mistakenly hailed as the winner of Miss Universe by host Steve Harvey. A crown and stash were placed on her head before Harvey told the world the tragic mistake he had just made and gave Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, the coveted title.
That’s the mix-up Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel was referencing when said he blamed Steve Harvey for the error during last night’s ceremony.
