Most shocking moment in Oscars history: Presenters call the wrong winner for best picture

By Emily Yahr and Elahe Izadi February 27 at 12:49 AM

Watch the crazy ending of the Oscars

In what is most certainly the most shocking moment in Oscars history, Faye Dunaway announced the wrong winner for best picture at the end of the night, awarding the trophy to “La La Land” when it actually was supposed to go to “Moonlight.”

It all started as Dunaway’s co-presenter, Warren Beatty, opened the envelope to read the winner for best picture. He looked confused, took a long pause, and then looked over at Dunaway, who clearly thought he was doing some sort of bit. “You’re awful!” she said, as the crowd laughed nervously. “God.” Beatty then handed the envelope to Dunaway, who announced “La La Land!”

The cast and crew of “La La Land” (which had already won six awards during the ceremony) arrived on stage to accept the award. Producers Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt delivered their acceptance speeches, when all of a sudden there was a flurry of activity on stage. Producer Fred Berger was in the middle of thanking his family when he briefly turned around and remarked, “We lost, by the way.”

A man with a headset was milling about, as was Martha Ruiz, only one of two accountants in charge of tabulating Oscar ballots — and therefore only one of two people we knew all the winners before the show.

All of a sudden, Horowitz stepped forward again. “There’s been a mistake,” he said. “‘Moonlight,’ you guys won.”

As confused gasps and whispers took over, Beatty stepped forward to try to clear up the confusion. The reason he had paused earlier when he looked at the envelope was because it said “Emma Stone, ‘La La Land.’” Stone had just won best actress.

“That’s why I took such a long look at Faye…I wasn’t trying to be funny,” Beatty explained to the audience.

An additional wrinkle was added to the saga backstage, where Stone explained that she was on stage after “La La Land” was announced as winner with her best actress Oscars and card in hand.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.8a8a497f4d25