Oscars auditors PwC apologise for 'Best Film' gaffe

Presenters were given wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected

Oscars, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Mahershala Ali, Moonlight, La La Land
Ryan Gosling, right, with Emma Stone, centre, congratulates Mahershala Ali, for winning best picture award for "Moonlight" at Oscars. It was originally announced mistakenly that "La La Land" was the winner. Photo: AP/PTI
ANI New Delhi
Last Updated : Feb 27 2017 | 4:01 PM IST

After what can be considered as the Academy Awards' biggest mistake, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the official accountant firm of the event, issued a statement on the embarrassing mix-up, in which Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway read 'La La Land' as the 'Best Picture,' instead of the actual winner, 'Moonlight.'

Their statement read, "We sincerely apologise to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture. The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred."

Adding, "We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation."

On that note, halfway through the 'La La Land' acceptance speech, the error was clarified and the correct card was shown on camera.

"There's a mistake. Moonlight, you won best picture," Fred Berger, the La La Land producer, announced to the gasps of a shocked crowd.

Reasoning to the mistake done, Beatty said that he had been given the wrong envelope to open.

"I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, La La Land," he said, adding that he had not done it "to try to be funny".

However, according to 'La La Land' lead actress Emma Stone, who even won an Oscar for the same, her 'Best Actress in a Leading Role' card was in her hand the whole time.

"I also was holding my Best Actress in a Leading Role card the whole time. I'm not sure what happened," Stone told reporters in the press room.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio, who presented Stone her trophy, confirmed that he gave her the card that declared her the winner.

"He gave the card directly to Emma and said 'You are going to want to keep this,' according to DiCaprio's representative.

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First Published: Feb 27 2017 | 3:58 PM IST

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