Revisiting 'Envelopegate': Breaking Down Oscars’ Biggest Debacle

It's been five years since the La La Land-Moonlight mix-up. Let's go back to the craziness of that night.

It’s already been five years since one of the most famous moments in Academy Awards history. On February 26, 2017, that year’s Best Picture award was erroneously handed to the wrong winner with millions watching. It’s one of the most unreal moments of live TV I’ve ever witnessed. 

The strong frontrunner going into the awards was La La Land, so there was no surprise when it was initially announced as the winner. And while La La Land would’ve been a deserving Best Picture, Moonlight’s win was far more historic and meaningful due to its all-black cast and focus on a LGBTQ main character. 

What actually went wrong? The short version is that PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountant (and Matt Damon lookalike) Brian Cullinan mistakenly handed the Best Actress envelope (which was Emma Stone for La La Land) to presenter Warren Beatty. Beatty and co-presenter Faye Dunaway saw “La La Land” on the card and read the wrong name. It was an unfortunate mix-up that we likely won’t see happen again in such a big moment. And it made for chaotic and unforgettable live TV. Here’s a time-stamped breakdown, Zapruder-style. 

0:00 - Presumably to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty are presenting Best Picture. Two of the biggest stars of the 70s and 80s, it’s great to see these two together again on such a momentous occasion. However, according to Page Six (so take it with as many grains of salt as needed), the two were feuding before the ceremony. Beatty reportedly was displeased that he was presenting with her and refused to rehearse before the show. Keep this in mind as we move forward. 

0:37 - Beatty mentions the “increasing diversity in our community.” In the previous two Academy Awards, all 20 acting nominees had been white, sparking the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, which led to the Academy committing to diversify its membership by welcoming in thousands of additional industry professionals over the next few years. (We’ve seen the effects of this in the last couple years as an increasingly international voting body has handed Best Picture to Parasite and recognized a wider variety of films.) Beatty’s line about diversity is a nice bit of foreshadowing for what will transpire over the next several minutes, even though he had no way of knowing this. 

0:57 - All in all, a so-so year for Best Picture nominees. You have Moonlight, La La Land, and Arrival, which are all modern classics. Hell or High Water is outstanding as well. But then you have less impressive achievements like Hacksaw Ridge and Hidden Figures. Not the best slate but certainly not the worst. 

1:30 - Okay, here’s where things begin to go off the rails. We come back from applauding the nominees to Beatty opening the envelope. He looks at the card with confusion, looks in the envelope again to see if anything else is in there, and glances at Dunaway with concern. At this point, everyone watching (including Dunaway) assumes this is some kind of old guy bit. (I counted and Beatty looked at the card seven (!) times before passing it to Dunaway to read the winner.) In reality, Beatty has just read the name “Emma Stone - La La Land” which no doubt baffles the hell out of him. 

1:41 - Right now, Beatty should’ve stopped and said, “I think I have the wrong envelope!” Or he could’ve covered the mic and explained to Dunaway that there’s an issue. (Again, these two were reportedly not on great terms, so he doesn’t do that.) Millions of people are hanging on his every word, so he presses forward. It’s also worth remembering that La La Land is the heavy favorite to win anyway. He says, “And the Academy Award…” *absurdly long pause as he fumbles with the envelope yet again* “for Best Picture…”

1:49 - Dunaway is giving him a lighthearted you ol’ so-and-so look. You can hear faint laughter from an impatient audience, who are clearly ready for him to just read the damn card already. Dunaway jokes, “You’re impossible! Come on.” 

1:51 - Here it is. The single funniest moment of this entire thing is the look Beatty gives Dunaway as he hands over the card. Talk about passing the buck! 

1:53 - Dunaway: “La La Land!” Cheers erupt from the audience as Beatty, still the only person who knows something’s not right, looks out with a nervous, plastic smile on his face. 

1:57 - As the wondrous score to their movie plays in the background, the La La Land crew gather on stage to accept their (seemingly) inevitable Best Picture trophies. Producer Jordan Horowitz is first to the mic. He will become an extremely important figure in the chaos to come. 

3:31 - As producer Marc Platt gives a speech in the biggest moment of his professional life, his producing partners behind him (Horowitz and Fred Berger, the two bald guys) start to realize something is off, exchanging WTF faces as men with headsets rush on stage to search for envelopes. 

3:50 - After an Oscars show producer examines the envelope Horowitz is holding (the one that says “Emma Stone”), the two La La Land producers learn what has happened. Horowitz takes a few steps back in shock. Everyone else on stage starts to receive the news. On the far right side of the stage, you can see PwC accountant Cullinan and his partner stepping in to figure out what’s happened. 

3:57 - As Platt wraps up his speech, he cedes the spotlight to Berger, who briefly shakes his head as if to say, I really shouldn't give an acceptance speech for an award I didn’t win.

4:17 - Berger says a few lovely (but distracted) words for his family before dropping this little nugget: “We lost by the way, but… you know.” Incredible. Horowitz is discussing what the hell just happened with Ryan Gosling when he decides someone needs to take control of the situation. 

4:20 - “There’s a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.” A few screams of shock spring from the crowd. Around this time we get one of the most famous photos in Oscars history.

4:36 - After trying in vain to convince the audience that there indeed was a mistake, Horowitz snatches the correct card from Beatty and holds it up for the world to see in a now-iconic image. Beatty is clearly mortified in the background. 

4:51 - Cut to the Moonlight team celebrating in disbelief. Mahershala Ali embraces a co-star. Director Barry Jenkins walks in a stupor with his hand over his mouth. Utter shock and euphoria. 

5:00 - Host Jimmy Kimmel is now at the mic attempting to establish some kind of jokey order amid the chaos. He wants the La La Land producers to keep their Oscars. His best quip is when he implicates Steve Harvey in the mess, who had announced the wrong Miss Universe winner a couple years earlier. 

5:04 - Pause the video here. La La Land director Damien Chazelle is in the background staring a hole through the back of Kimmel’s head before wandering away from center stage in a daze. He had just become the youngest Best Director winner in history so he is probably undergoing some vicious whiplash right now. (Sorry.)

5:07 - Horowitz graciously gives up his Oscar in a very performative but generous gesture. His calm and in control demeanor was impressive in such a wild situation. Should he be our next President? 

5:20 - Beatty saunters up to the mic once again. He inexplicably opens with “Hello… hello…” before describing what happened. In the background some of the La La Land team have stuck around to embrace the Moonlight people as they make their way onto the stage. 

5:52 - Beatty ends his spiel with, “This is Moonlight, the Best Picture.” This is the moment when it appears to fully set in for the people in the auditorium. A swell rises from the crowd and we start to get A-lister reaction shots. Michelle Williams, Busy Philipps, and Ben Affleck are cheering enthusiastically in the front row. Viola Davis looks elated. Denzel looks… not all that amazed, but he’s seen it all. Matt Damon is whistling with gusto. 

6:22 - Barry Jenkins is suddenly at the mic with the perfect line for the moment: “Even in my dreams this could not be true. But to hell with dreams.” The significance of a film like Moonlight winning the Academy’s top prize isn’t lost on anyone at this point. 

6:32 - Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are having a ball. 

7:40 - Samuel L. Jackson wipes away a tear. 

7:45 - Jenkins delivers emotional final words as his collaborators are all giddy smiles and triumphant tears behind him. What a way to end this unpredictable, unprecedented, and unbelievable Oscars moment.