PARIS (AFP) – The Oscar mix-up that saw “La La Land” mistakenly named as Best Picture before “Moonlight” took the award might be the biggest such blunder, but it is by no means the first.
Here is a rundown of awards slip-ups:
– Oscars 2017 –
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty announced Sunday that “La La Land” had won Best Picture, at the climax of the 2017 Academy Awards ceremony. But as the film’s crew gave their acceptance speeches, they realised the mistake and announced that “Moonlight” had actually won, prompting Beatty to mumble apologies.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm responsible for tabulating Oscar ballots, apologised, saying that Beatty and Dunaway were handed the wrong envelope.
– Miss Universe crowns wrong beauty queen –
In December 2015, the host of the Miss Universe pageant, comedian Steve Harvey, misread his cue card and announced that Miss Colombia had won, before apologising and correcting to Miss Philippines.
The event was live in Las Vegas before millions of viewers around the world.
Half-laughing, half-sobbing with emotion, Ariadna Gutierrez was fleetingly crowned and congratulated, but as she cradled a huge bouquet of flowers and blew kisses to the crowd, Harvey owned up to his blunder. “OK folks, I have to apologise. The first runner up is Colombia,” he said.
“Miss Universe 2015 is Philippines,” Harvey added as the music picked up again, with Wurtzbach looking stunned and mouthing “What?”
– Oscars 2014 –
In a prequel to Sunday’s flub, actor John Travolta got it wrong when he was called on to announce the 2014 Oscar for Best Original Song, which was “Let It Go”, sung by Idina Menzel for the animated film “Frozen”. Travolta mangled Menzel’s name and asked the audience to applaud “Adela Dazeem”.
– Australia’s Next Next Top Model –
In September 2010 Australia’s Next Top Model award was announced as Kelsey Martinovich, before presenter Sarah Murdoch had to go back and announce that the winner was in fact Amanda Ware.
The two finalists had already made their winner’s and loser’s speeches when Murdoch, daughter-in-law of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, revealed the mix-up.
“Oh my God, I don’t know what to say right now. I’m feeling a bit sick about this,” Murdoch said. “This is what happens on live TV, folks. This is insane, insane, insane.”
A bewildered Ware, 18, finally accepted the award and made a brief victory sashay down the catwalk, as 19-year-old Martinovich took the bizarre defeat gracefully.
Broadcaster Foxtel blamed the error on a “miscommunication” between backstage operators, and offered Martinovich a cash gift and a trip to New York as compensation.
– NRJ music mix-up –
French radio station NRJ messed up two years in a row, starting in 2009 when US singer Katy Perry accepted the station’s best international song award. Seconds before the show ended, the presenter announced that the award was in fact meant for Rihanna.
In 2010, The Black Eyed Peas were named best international group of the year, a mistake corrected just a few minutes later when the German group Tokio Hotel got the nod.
