Oscars Recap: Historical wins and political tension

“Horrific;” “Unbelievable;” “Envelopegate.” These are some of the words used to describe the 89th Academy Awards on Feb. 26. In case you missed the historic televised event last Sunday, here is a recap of the major snafus and political jabs that characterized this unprecedented ceremony:
 
The Biggest Blunder
“The Academy Award… for Best Picture…”
“La La Land!” interrupted Faye Dunaway, summoning producer Jordan Horowitz and the cast and crew on stage.
However, midway through the acceptance speeches, Horowitz took the microphone. “I’m sorry, there’s a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.”
The shocking incident mirrored Steve Harvey’s famous mistake in the 2015 Miss Universe finals, when he read the runner-up’s name instead of champion Miss Philippines.
Two PwC accountants — Martha Ruiz and Brian Cullinan — were fired this week after investigations showed they failed to follow proper protocol backstage and were “distracted” prior to the mishap.
 
The Overlooked Victory
Unfortunately, the final minutes of the telecast were dominated by the shocking mishap rather than the historic Best Picture win by “Moonlight.” The film is the first LGBTQ-centered picture to win an Oscar, and also the first winning film about black characters that is not centered around racism. Mahershala Ali — who plays Juan in the film — was also awarded Best Supporting Actor, making history as the first ever Muslim to win an Academy Award.
 
The Photo Mix-up
In the In Memoriam slideshow — which honors deceased individuals in the filmmaking industry — a photo of the very much alive Australian producer Jan Chapman was displayed mistakenly on the late costume designer Janet Patterson’s slide. Chapman assured Variety that she was “alive and well” following the ceremony and said she was “devastated” by the mix-up.
 
A Trump Roast?
Aside from mistakes, the 89th Academy Awards was riddled with political tension, from host Jimmy Kimmel’s frequent and consistently negative jabs at President Trump to the boycotting of the ceremony by the winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. In an interview with Breitbart News following the ceremony, Trump said he believed the blunder occurred because “they were focused so hard on politics that they didn’t get the act together at the end.”