Oscars 2017: Willie Geist Congratulates Sister Even Though She Didn’t Technically Win

Libby Geist Wildes executive produced Oscar-winning documentary “OJ: Made in America”

willie geist
NBC

Willie Geist jumped the gun when he congratulated his sister Libby Geist Wildes for winning an Oscar for Documentary Feature “OJ: Made in America.”

The only problem is, technically, she didn’t exactly win.

“MY. SISTER. JUST. WON. AN. OSCAR!!!!! Congrats, @LibbyGeist, @EzraEdelman, @CWaterlow, @ConnorSchell, & @ESPN! #Oscars2017 @OJMadeInAmerica,” the news anchor tweeted after the category was announced.

Libby Geist Wildes was an executive producer on “Made in America,” but she did not officially share the Oscar gold in the Academy’s eyes. The recipients of the award are listed as director Ezra Edelman and producer Caroline Waterlow.

Of course, Geist’s sis is undoubtedly celebrating tonight.

His colleagues at NBC’s “Today Show” also backed him up with a celebratory tweet: “Congrats to @WillieGeist‘s sister, @LibbyGeist, on her #Oscarswin for @OJMadeInAmerica.”

Willie had previously spoken to TheWrap about how he would be rooting for his sister at Sunday’s awards ceremony. “Whatever happens, [my sister] went to the Oscars, which is the peak Geist achievement of all time,” he said. “We’ll never top that so she’s already won in that regard.”

The documentary took Libby years to complete. But it was worth the wait as the final product has already won multiple awards and has been widely praised throughout the film industry.

“They had this idea for a film but the question was, is there enough left to say about O.J. and are people willing to hear it,” Geist said of his sister’s lauded project. “When they broadened it out with Ezra’s vision, to do something not about the O.J. trial which we’ve heard about ad nauseam, but about the America that he lived through… you sit and you watch it and you don’t want it to be over.”

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