Oscars 2017: How PricewaterhouseCoopers Flubbed The ‘La La Land,’ ‘Moonlight’ Best Picture Announcement

The Oscars are always a night to remember, but none will live in infamy quite like the 2017 award show. There was no shortage of controversy during Sunday’s festivities, but it’s the show’s eventful close that people can’t stop talking about.

With just moments left in the 89th Academy Awards, Faye Dunaway and Warrant Beatty took the stage to announce the best picture winner. The cast and crew of “La La Land” were in the midst of delivering their acceptance speeches when it was revealed that a mistake had been made. Dunaway and Beatty were given the wrong envelope. According to the Los Angeles Times, there are two sets — one on either side of the stage — to be given to presenters by PricewaterhouseCoopers partners Brian Cullinan or Martha Ruiz.

The blunder was made public by “La La Land” producer Fred Berger. As officials scurried between members of the crowd linked to the film, he approached the microphone to resolve the confusion. “We lost, by the way, but, you know,” he said before allowing Jordan Horowitz to elaborate. He was praised by many on Twitter for being straightforward and handling the situation with grace. After assuring the crowd he wasn’t kidding, he grabbed the real winner card from Beatty and held it up. Sure enough, “Moonlight” had taken the title.

Viewers tweeting along with the show captured the moment perfectly in their responses. Many went from furious to relieved in a matter of moments. While “La La Land” was expected to win in many of the 14 categories it was nominated in, “Moonlight” fans held out hope. The initial announcement it had lost came after disappointing results in both the best actor and best actress categories. The casts and crews of both “La La Land” and “Moonlight” joined in on the social media celebration, which made it that much sweeter.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the firm responsible for counting the votes and sealing the results in envelopes, has issued an apology for the mix-up. In their statement they apologized to those associated with both “La La Land” and “Moonlight,” Beatty, Dunaway and those watching the show. PricewaterhouseCoopers claims they’re launching an investigation into exactly what happened and how.

While this was the most shocking mistake made during the 2017 Oscars, it wasn’t the only thing that went wrong. Another occurred during the In Memoriam segment. The Academy used a photo of Jan Chapmen to memorialize Janet Patterson. Chapman later addressed the flub in an email to Variety, announcing that she is very much alive and still working.

“I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and long-time collaborator Janet Patterson,” she said. “I am alive and well and an active producer.”