There was confusion and disbelief at the Oscars when actor Warren Beatty mistakenly announced La La Land as the winner of the night's top prize. The winner was, in fact, Moonlight. Perhaps next year's Academy Awards should have a category for best reaction to Sunday's best picture blunder—Hollywood reacted to the snafu with sass.
Plenty of stars made the connection between the Oscars and another vote count that was highly divisive. People made light of the blunder, comparing it to what they wished had happened after the the U.S. presidential election.
Amazing ending. Wish that had happened on Election Day.
— Billy Crystal (@BillyCrystal) February 27, 2017
You know what the problem is -- millions of Academy members voted illegally.
— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) February 27, 2017
Most nights, I have a dream in which what just happened at the #Oscars actually happened on election night.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 27, 2017
Don't y'all go blaming the old people for that one. They gave Warren Beatty the wrong envelope. It was probably Putin. #Moonlight #Oscars
— Wanda Sykes (@iamwandasykes) February 27, 2017
Some also likened the incident to a similar moment in 2015 when Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner of the Miss Universe competition.
Have your people call our people - we know what to do. #Oscars #MissUniverse
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) February 27, 2017
“Personally I blame @IamSteveHarvey for this.” - Jimmy #Kimmel #Oscars
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) February 27, 2017
Even Moonlight director Barry Jenkins had to make sure his eyes weren't being deceived:
STILL SPEECHLESS pic.twitter.com/qe3NUDWAHM
— Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) February 27, 2017
M. Night Shyamalan a writer-director known for his twists (the brains behind The Sixth Sense, The Village and Split), had one of the funniest quips of the night:
I wrote the ending of the academy awards 2017. @jimmykimmel we really got them!
— M. Night Shyamalan (@MNightShyamalan) February 27, 2017
Game show host Billy Eichner made a joke with more than a kernel of truth, when he asked anyone from the "In Memoriam" section whether they were still alive:
IF ANYONE FROM THE IN MEMORIUM IS STILL ALIVE PLEASE LET US KNOW
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 27, 2017
In another error on the night, the image of late costume designer Janet Patterson appeared incorrect—instead the reel used a picture of an Australian film producer, Jan Chapman, who said in a statement that she is "alive and well."
In the end, Ryan Gosling's face said more than words about the shambolic night:
Jordan: We didn't win. There is a mistake. Moonlight won.
— guada (@stonemayi) February 27, 2017
Everyone: OH MY GOD WHAT
Ryan Gosling: pic.twitter.com/9kKTs2nk4K
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
