Most awkward moments at Oscars 2017

The best-picture mix- up wasn't the only gaffe at the 2017 Oscars.

ByABC News
February 27, 2017, 2:43 PM

— -- The best picture mix-up may have been the biggest gaffe Sunday night -- and possibly in Academy Awards history -- but it was certainly not the only one.

Some were outright mistakes, others simply uncomfortable moments. And then there was that most awkward moment of all -- when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced the wrong best picture winner.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm that tallies the Oscars voting, took responsibility for that one, saying in a statement that they gave the presenters the wrong envelope before they went on stage.

After "La La Land" was announced as the winner, that film's producers were on stage thanking folks while a commotion seemed to go on behind them. "La La Land" producer Jordan Horowitz ended the apparent confusion by declaring to the audience, "There's a mistake. 'Moonlight,' you guys won best picture ... This is not a joke."

After a pause, the folks from "Moonlight" scrambled to the stage as the audience gasped in surprise and rose to their feet.

The snafu will surely be remembered for years to come. Here are some other gaffes from Hollywood's biggest night:

'Hidden Fences'

The "Hidden Fences" flub -- a conflation of the names of two films about African-Americans, "Hidden Figures" and "Fences" -- happened again, this time on the red carpet with People magazine editorial director Jess Cagle. If you recall, "Hidden Fences" made its debut at the Golden Globes, when Jenna Bush Hager mistakenly joined the names of what are two of the year's biggest films. The error was later repeated from the Golden Globes stage by Michael Keaton.

To his credit, Cagle on Sunday quickly corrected himself. But that didn't stop Twitter from going crazy.

Oscars can't dance

Justin Timberlake's performance of "Can't Stop the Feeling" was one of the best openers of the Oscars, but his attempt to get the audience to join in for one big dance party had mixed results. The camera seemed to catch a number of awkward moves from Hollywood's elite as they tried to catch that feeling or perhaps had a bit too much of it.

When Casey thanked Denzel

After Casey Affleck won for best actor, he first thanked Denzel Washington, who was up for the same award. "One of the first people who taught me how to act was Denzel Washington, and I just met him tonight for the first time. Thank you," Affleck said. But as the camera panned to Washington, it wasn't clear that he was impressed.

Jimmy Kimmel's tour bus prank went on too long

Host Jimmy Kimmel surprised a Hollywood Stars coach tour by bringing them to the Oscars. The prank started out funny, with an engaged couple being declared man and wife by her favorite actor, Denzel Washington.

But there were awkward moments, like when Kimmel seemed to poke fun at the name of an Asian woman on the tour while praising her husband Patrick's name. "See, that’s a name," he said. Meanwhile, at least one person with the tour appeared bored by the whole thing, and by the end so were the people watching at home.

Kimmel makes fun of Mahershala Ali's name too

Earlier in the show, Kimmel had an exchange with Mahershala Ali about his name right after the actor won for best supporting actor. Ali had just thanked his wife Amatus Sami-Karim for giving birth to their daughter, Bari Najma Ali, four days earlier. Later, Kimmel joked that with a name like Mahershala he must have had a tough time naming his daughter. "You can’t name her Amy," Kimmel joked.

Ali seemed to laugh it off, but Twitter had a field day.

Unfortunately, Kimmel didn't stop there. He later asked the audience to yell out Ali's name.

In Memoriam gets it wrong

The In Memoriam tribute is often controversial, usually for who it leaves out. But Sunday night, it included Australian costume designer and four-time Oscar nominee Janet Patterson, getting both her name and profession right, but identified her with the wrong photo. The photo was actually of Jan Chapman, an Australian producer who once worked with Patterson.

Chapman was not happy with the academy's major mistake. "I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and longtime collaborator Janet Patterson," she wrote in an email to Vanity Fair.

Auli'i Cravalho hit mid-performance

"Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho was making her Oscar-debut performance, singing the film's nominated song "How Far I'll Go" when she was whacked in the head by a flag-like prop on stage. The 16-year-old turned what could have been an awkward moment into a show of perseverance. Barely flinching as she continued to belt out the tune, this poised young singer is obviously going places.

Related Topics