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Watching the Oscars producers tell La La Land they didn't win is the most excruciating television so far this year

Watching the Oscars producers tell La La Land they didn't win is the most excruciating television so far this year

If you weren't aware yet, the La La Land cast, producers and director accepted the Academy Award for Best Picture on Sunday night, prematurely.

It transpired that a mistake had been made regarding the envelopes.

Warren Beatty was handed the backup envelope for best Actress in a Leading Role, saw only the name "Emma Stone" and assumed it meant La La Land.

In two statements, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm that counts the Oscar ballots, said:

We sincerely apologize 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.

PwC takes full responsibility for the series of mistakes and breaches of established protocols during last night’s Oscars. PwC Partner Brian Cullinan mistakenly handed the back-up envelope for Actress in a Leading Role instead of the envelope for Best Picture to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Once the error occurred, protocols for correcting it were not followed through quickly enough by Mr. Cullinan or his partner.

In the moment, however, the footage was excruciating:

At least some humour could be found in it:

That's how you deliver results.

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