Faye Dunaway insists the Oscars blunder which saw her mistakenly name ‘La La Land’ as the winner of the Best Picture prize "wasn’t Warren Beatty’s fault".
Chaos ensued at the 89th annual Academy Awards at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on Sunday night (26.02.16) after Faye, 76, said that the musical movie had won the evening’s biggest award after she and Hollywood legend Warren, 79, were given the wrong envelope before stepping onto the stage.
After being told there was a mix-up, ‘La La Land’ producer Jordan Horowitz took to the mic and called up everyone who worked on ‘Moonlight’ to the stage telling them that they were the real victors.
‘The Towering Inferno’ actress admits it was a "very odd thing" but no one was to blame, especially not Warren.
She told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "It was very quick; I can’t talk about it. The card read that way. It was a very odd thing. It wasn’t Warren’s fault."
The mistake came as the pair were handed the wrong envelope, with the paper they were given listing the winner for Best Actress in a Leading Role – which went to Emma Stone for ‘La La Land’ – as opposed to Best Picture.
Warren said on stage after ‘Moonlight’ had been named as the winner: "I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, ‘La La Land’ – that’s why I took such a long look at you and Faye.
"I wasn’t trying to be funny."
Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is responsible for calculating the results of the voting process and are in charge of handing the envelopes to presenters, and have apologised unreservedly for the mistake.
The company said in a statement: "We sincerely apologise to ‘Moonlight’, ‘La La Land’, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture.
"The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation."
Faye Dunaway: Warren Beatty wasn’t at fault for Oscars blunder
