“La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday morning to explain his role in the snafu at the end of Sunday’s Academy Awards. “People needed clarity in that moment,” he said.
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentily announced “La La Land” as the Best Picture award winner, when the actual winner was “Moonlight.” Gary Natoli came onstage during the “La La Land” acceptance speeches, took the incorrect envelope from Horowitz and saw that it wasn’t the Best Picture envelope.
Horowitz aggressively yanked the correct envelope from Beatty, showed it to the cameras and announced the actual winner. “GMA” co-host George Stephanopoulos called it a “study in grace under pressure.”
“I wanted to make sure the right thing was done,” Horowitz explained. “At that point it was not about me, it was about making sure ‘Moonlight’ got the recognition it really deserves.”
Horowitz said there was a lot of “confusion and chaos” on the stage as the situation was unfolding and “it didn’t look like there was any order whatsoever,” so he just kind of “jumped in” to prove it was not some sort of joke.
Horowitz explained that the creators of “Moonlight” are good friends. Co-host Robin Roberts praised Hollywood for being a “loving, supportive community.”