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The two PwC accountants responsible for the wrong film being announced for the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards have been stripped off their Oscars privileges.
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PwC partners lose Oscars gig
03 March 2017
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8 minute read
At the 2017 Oscars ceremony, PwC partners Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz had the coveted job of handing the envelopes encasing the winners of each award to the presenters.
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In the biggest mishap of the Awards’ history, Mr Cullinan accidentally handed the wrong envelope to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway for the Best Picture award, leading to La La Land accidentally being crowned before the rightful winner, Moonlight, was revealed.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs told the Associated Press that Mr Cullinan and Ms Ruiz have been permanently banned from all film academy dealings.
While it was Mr Cullinan who fatefully handed over the incorrect envelope, Ms Ruiz has also been banned for not acting quickly enough to fix the situation.
Ms Boone Isaacs also said that the Academy’s relationship with PwC, who has been trusted to tally the Oscar ballots for 83 years, is still under review.
While Mr Cullinan and Ms Ruiz won’t be walking the red carpet anymore, a PwC spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that they will remain employed by the firm as partners.
On Monday, PwC has since issued an apology over the incident.
“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 announcement 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.”
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