Oscars 2017 host Jimmy Kimmel explains what really happened with the La La Land-Moonlight Best Picture mixup
'It was the weirdest TV finale since Lost'
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Your support makes all the difference.The host of this year's Oscars ceremony, Jimmy Kimmel, has shed some light on the farcical events surrounding the biggest screw-up in Hollywood history which saw La La Land named Best Picture when Moonlight had actually won.
Last night (27 February), the talk show host appeared on his series Jimmy Kimmel Live and addressed the error in his opening monologue, citing the moment as “the weirdest TV finale since Lost.”
“I don't know if you know this but I hosted the Oscars last night,” he began, adding: “Except for the end, it was a lot of fun.”
The moment in question saw presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty handed a duplicate envelope for Actress in a Leading Role which had just been handed out to La La Land star Emma Stone. Beatty, in confusion, handed the card to his Bonnie and Clyde co-star Dunaway who, failing to notice, incorrectly named Damien Chazelle's musical as the winner of the evening's biggest award (“In other words, Clyde threw Bonnie under the bus").
“As I'm sure you heard, La La Land was simultaneously somehow the biggest winner and loser last night,” Kimmel quipped.
Kimmel explained how he was supposed to end the ceremony from the audience sat next to his 'frenemy' Matt Damon when he noticed something had gone wrong and that Barry Jenkins' acclaimed drama Moonlight had actually won Best Picture.
He continued: “And now so we have the producers of two movies on stage and who the hell knows who is who from each movie, and I'm standing there like an idiot feeling bad for these guys but also trying really hard not to laugh, to be honest.”
Kimmel explains how he noticed Denzel Washington gesturing for him to bring Jenkins to the microphone so he could make a winners speech (“Thank God Denzel was there to make sense,” the host joked).
He also revealed that some audience members believed the moment to be a prank pulled by Kimmel.
Following the ceremony, accountants from Pricewaterhouse Cooper apologised to all parties involved in the blunder.
Kimmel explained how he went straight up to Beatty after transmission had ended for clarification on what had happened, stating Dunaway was nowhere to be seen.
“Faye Dunaway made quite the getaway; she read the wrong name and she split.”
You can find a full list of the evening's winners here.
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