warren beatty fate dunaway oscar moonlight la la land

Getty Images

How could the biggest flub in Oscar history possibly have occurred — with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty reading the wrong winner for the evening’s top prize?

While Beatty said on stage that the envelope contained the winner for Best Actress, which went to “La La Land” star Emma Stone, the actress herself seemed puzzled by that explanation.

“I also was holding my Best Actress in a Leading Role card that entire time,” Emma Stone said backstage. “I don’t mean to start stuff.”

Also Read: Watch Emma Stone's Face as She Learns 'La La Land' Actually Lost Best Picture Oscar (Video)

PwC, the accounting firm which counts the Oscar ballots and has control of the winning envelopes, issued a statement late Sunday night accepting responsibility for giving the wrong envelope to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

“The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected,” the statement read. “We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred.”

Oscar insiders note that there are two reps from PwC (f.k.a. PricewaterhouseCoopers) backstage, one stationed on either side of the stage. Each has a complete set of envelopes. They’ve also memorized the winners and have instructions to immediately stop the show if an incorrect winner is announced.

Also Read: Best Picture Oscar Disaster: The Internet Speaks, Memes, Copes

Most presenters enter from stage right, and get their envelope from a stack on that side of the stage. But there’s another stack on stage left, where only a couple of people typically enter during each show.

It’s possible that Warren Beatty was given the Best Actress envelope by mistake from the side of the stage that hadn’t given presenter Leonardo DiCaprio his Best Actress envelope — the one Stone said she still had in her possession backstage.

In any case, PwC seemed appropriately contrite in the wake of the epic screw-up. “We sincerely apologize to ‘Moonlight,’ ‘La La Land,’ Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error,” the firm’s statement read.

Re-watch the entire incident here:

21 Best and Worst Oscars Moments of 2017, From Viola Davis to Warren Beatty (Photos)

This year's Academy Awards featured an insanely cute kid, some uncomfortable name-shaming -- and one of the biggest flubs in the nearly 100-year history of the ceremony
Getty Images
WORST: People Magazine editor and red carpet host Jess Cagle revived this year's Golden Globes faux pas, mentioning "Hidden Fences" as one of 2016's extraordinary films.
ABC
BEST: Jimmy Kimmel honors Meryl Streep with a standing ovation and a tongue-in-cheek homage to an actress who "has stood the test of time for her many uninspiring and overrated performances"
Getty Images
BEST: "Moonlight" star Mahershala Ali gives a touching speech honoring his grandmother and four-day-old child after winning the Oscar for Best Actor
Getty Images
WORST: Critically panned superhero flick "Suicide Squad" wins an Oscar for makeup, giving the film as many Academy Awards as "Citizen Kane"
Warner Bros.
BEST: The cast of "Hidden Figures" brings out one of the film's true-life inspirations, NASA scientist Katharine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson in the movie)
Getty Images
BEST: The rich get richer: Jimmy Kimmel floated bags of sweets to the crowd with a massive balloon drop
ABC
WORST/BEST: "Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho got hit in the head with a flag while performing the song "How Far I'll Go" from the Disney film, but the 16-year-old wasn't flustered and brought down the house with her singing
Getty Images
BEST: "Fences'" Viola Davis gives an emotional speech honoring her family and August Wilson after accepting her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress
Getty Images
BEST: After Iran's "The Salesman" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, director Asghar Farhadi (who boycotted the ceremony) explained his reasons in a heartfelt and pointed statement read by an Iranian-American engineer and astronaut
Getty Images
BEST: Jimmy Kimmel brings a bus full of Hollywood tourists to the front row of the Academy Awards -- and Denzel Washington unofficially marries an engaged couple
Getty Images
WORST: Jimmy Kimmel makes fun of one of the tourists' name, while saying "now that's a name" to her husband, named Patrick
Getty Images
WORST: Seth Rogen (poorly) sings "Hamilton" songs while presenting the Academy Award for Best Film Editing alongside Michael J. Fox
Getty Images
BEST/WORST: Kimmel conducts a brief interview with "Lion" star Sunny Pawar, but an homage to Disney's "Lion King" comes off a little awkward
Getty Images
BEST: Kimmel tries to engage the President on his preferred medium: Twitter
Twitter
BEST: The host unveils an Oscar-themed version of one of his late-night show's signature bits, Mean Tweets
ABC
BEST: Kimmel introduces presenters Ben Affleck and erstwhile rival Matt Damon as "Ben Affleck and guest," and has Damon played off by the orchestra during his announcement of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay
Getty Images
WORST: Halle Berry incorrectly pronounces "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle's name as "Shazeel" when announcing his win for Best Director
Getty Images
BEST: "Manchester by the Sea" director Kenneth Lonergan wins his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and says his film is "about people trying to take care of each other in terrible diversity" in a heartfelt speech
Getty Images
WORST: Emma Stone wins the Oscar for Best Actress for musical "La La Land," despite her lack of top-end singing skills -- and a field including Isabelle Huppert, Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman
Getty Images
WORST: Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway had one job -- correctly announce the Best Picture winner -- and screwed that up, mistakenly naming "La La Land" instead of the actual victor, "Moonlight." Oscars accounting firm PwC later apologized, saying the wrong envelope had made its way into their hands.
Getty Images

1 of 21

Beatty’s Best Picture flub was one of the biggest Oscar bloopers of all time

This year's Academy Awards featured an insanely cute kid, some uncomfortable name-shaming -- and one of the biggest flubs in the nearly 100-year history of the ceremony

View In Gallery