At the end of a long, confusing ceremony, Moonlight deservedly won the Best Picture Oscar.
The presenters for the final award–Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway–were incorrectly given the best actress award envelope. A confused Beatty saw Emma Stone’s name and “La La Land,” and handed the envelope to Dunaway, who then announced the musical as the Best Picture winner.
The “La La Land” cast took the stage and producers began their speeches. But they stopped midway when they realized their error
“There’s a mistake. ‘Moonlight’ you guys won best picture,” Jordan Horowitz said to the shocked Dolby Theater audience. “This is not a joke, come up here” the producer added. “Moonlight has won best picture.”
Beatty then returned to the microphone to explain: “I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, ‘La La Land.’ That’s why I took such a long look at Faye and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny.”
“Moonlight” beat out “La La Land,” “Hidden Figures,” “Manchester by the Sea,” “Arrival,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Hell or High Water,” “Lion,” and “Fences.”
“I blame Steve Harvey,” host Jimmy Kimmel told the crowd, referring to the comedian’s flub while hosting the Miss Universe pageant and reading the wrong winner’s name.
