The 89th Academy Awards moved swiftly to the top of trending lists on social media, after an embarrassing mix-up that saw the prestigious Best Picture award being handed to the film ‘Moonlight’ after front-runner ‘La La Land’ was mistakenly announced as the winner.
Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway initially announced that La La Land, a favourite to win in the category had bagged the award. The error was later spotted when the cast and crew of the romantic musical La La Land were midway through their acceptance speeches. Beatty later said he had been given the wrong envelope.
The gaffe seen in real time around the world flew around social media with Twitter users reacting with disbelief and humour. Many Twitter users including celebrities compared it to Steve Harvey’s 2015 Miss Universe flub.
It's so hard to choose the right Steve Harvey gif pic.twitter.com/69VaYs254C
— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) February 27, 2017
But this tweet from Miss Universe’s official page showed everyone that it was able to take a joke.
Have your people call our people - we know what to do. #Oscars #MissUniverse
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) February 27, 2017
Some wishfully hoped that Hillary Clinton's election loss was also a mix-up.
Next up: Hillary Clinton is actually POTUS!!!!! #Oscars
— Emily Andras (@emtothea) February 27, 2017
Among other highlights at the event, ‘Manchester by the Sea’ star Casey Affleck was named Best Actor while Emma Stone won the Best Actress award for her role in La La Land.
Here’s a list of some of the other winners:
Best Picture - Moonlight
Best Actor - Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea
Best Actress - Emma Stone in La La Land
Best Director - Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Best Supporting Actor - Mahershala Ali for Moonlight
Best Supporting Actress - Viola Davis for Fences
Best Original Screenplay - Manchester by the Sea- Written by Kenneth Lonergan
Best Adapted Screenplay - Moonlight- Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Best Animated Film - Zootopia
Best Foreign Language Film - The Salesman, Iran
Best Documentary Film - O.J.: Made in America
Best Original Song -City of Stars - La La Land. Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyrics by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul