Just when you thought the 2017 Academy Awards couldn’t get more awkward, boom, they definitely did.
Not only was presenter Warren Beatty handed the wrong envelope for the winner of “Best Picture,” spawning #EnvelopeGate, but the “In Memoriam” montage featured a picture of a woman who is very much alive. According to CNN, deceased Australian costume designer Janet Patterson was featured in the segment. However, the image of non-deceased Australian producer Jan Chapman was placed alongside Patterson’s name.
This came up in the In Memoriam section at #Oscars2017. But isn’t this (living) Australian film producer Jan Chapman? pic.twitter.com/YKIMGBUv5E
— David Berthold (@DavidBerthold) February 27, 2017
Chapman was upset by the mix-up, and told Variety how unhappy she was with the mistake. “I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and long-time collaborator Janet Patterson,” she said. “I had urged her agency to check any photograph which might be used and understand that they were told that the Academy had it covered. Janet was a great beauty and four-time Oscar nominee and it is very disappointing that the error was not picked up.” She concluded by saying “I am alive and well and an active producer.” The Academy has not commented on this particular gaffe, but the accounting firm responsible for the show, PricewaterhouseCoopers, has issued a statement about the now-infamous “Best Picture” error.
“We sincerely apologize to ‘Moonlight,’ ‘La La Land,’ Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscars viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for best picture,” the statement read. “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.”