The ceremony saw presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly name La La Land the Best Picture winner – instead of real winner Moonlight – after being handed the wrong envelope, though eagle-eyed viewers soon noticed that the envelope Beatty was handed was, in fact, labelled ‘Actress in a Leading Role’, which itself went to La La Land’s Emma Stone.
PwC released a statement explaining Cullinan mistakenly handed the back-up Best Actress envelope instead of Best Picture, which many have speculated was due to Cullinan being distracted tweeting.
Though the great Oscars gaffe – which saw La La Land mistakenly named the Best Picture winner instead of Moonlight – made for a memorable close to the evening, it’s important over the coming days and weeks to remember how historic a win Moonlight is in its own right.
A momentousness somewhat lost in the confusion, robbing the Moonlight creators from a real opportunity to make their speeches in full.