oscars 2017

Academy President on Best Picture Bungle: ‘Changes Will Be Implemented to Ensure This Never Happens Again’

AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs onstage during the 89th Annual Academy Awards. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, has sent a note to Academy members in what we’re sure she hopes will be the last words written or uttered about the 2017 Oscars Best Picture debacle. In the note, she addressed “the rather chaotic ending of the show” before praising many of the crew, presenters, musical performers, and others involved. Notably, she praises “the spirit and enthusiasm of all the presenters, including Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway,” a specific mention that seems aimed at finally absolving the ill-fated envelope-brandishing Bonnie and Clyde of culpability.

Isaccs added that “PwC has accepted full responsibility for the error,” following revelations that breaches of protocol on two accountants’ parts led to the La La Land–no–wait–it’s–Moonlight mixup. And while those two accountants will not be back (and are currently, unfortunately, receiving death threats), Isaacs also assures her voting body that “changes will be implemented to ensure this never happens again.” Surely the GIF-worthy Damien Chazelle, among others, is grateful.

Academy President on Best Picture Debacle: Never Again