Do you all remember five years ago when the Oscars accidentally gave Best Picture to the wrong winner? Well, Salma Hayek can certainly recall being present when the wrong envelope was opened and Moonlight was later revealed as the true winner instead of the previously announced La La Land. It was a surprising moment, to say the least. And interestingly, Hayek explained to Jimmy Kimmel (who hosted the show that year) that she could tell something wasn't right even before that crazy Academy Awards moment took place.
If you recall, the audience at the 89th Academy Awards was dumbfounded upon seeing La La Land producers Jordan Horowitz rush to the microphone to reveal that his musical romantic drama did not, in fact, win Best Picture. And it's probably fair to say that many people watching at home felt the same way. However, Salma Hayek, who recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, explained that there was one key behind-the-scenes factor that tipped her off that something wasn't right:
You know, I saw it coming. I saw it happening before it happened. Because the guy that was in the aisle, one of those people saying ‘Yeah, ok I’m going to get the camera.’ Everybody was looking and I just see him go ‘What?! What do I do? What do I do? I can’t, I can’t tell them. I can’t go up on stage. Somebody else has to do it. Please don’t make me go up there. What are we doing? Do we go to commercial?’ He was so nervous and I said ‘Oh this is not the right winner.’
She makes a good point, as there typically wouldn't be a lot of commotion about the Best Picture winner off camera. Funny enough though, Jimmy Kimmel made to show a photo that included the look on the Magic Mike’s Last Dance actress’s face during the moment. Quite frankly, she looked like she was about to pop. Other notable reactions from the Oscars crowd that night included an enthused-looking Dwayne Johnson looking enthused, a seemingly heartbroken Meryl Streep and a smirking Denzel Washington. Check out the clip down below:
After the epic Best Picture mistake happened, many wondered how presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway could've made the error. What actually happened was that they were mistakenly given the previous envelope for Best Actress that said Emma Stone for La La Land. The ever-confused Bonnie and Clyde actors looked at each other, not knowing what to do, and Dunaway simply read the movie typed on the card. Jimmy Kimmel also shared a fascinating story from his POV and noted that many made the mistake of blaming the actors when it actually wasn't their faults.
To avoid snafus like this from happening again, the Academy has since made important changes. This includes having the ballot partner commit the winners to memory and having the celebrity presenter and stage manager double-check the envelopes for the right category. The three ballot partners also now attend the show rehearsal to prepare for any emergency situations. Five years later, there haven't been any additional snafus (envelope-wise) that would draw confused wild expressed from stars like Salma Hayek, who clearly proved to be observant.
With Jimmy Kimmel returning to host the 95th Academy Awards on March 12th, I wouldn’t be surprised if he references this mix-up moment via a sharp joke. Hopefully, the show goes off without any sort of hitch this year. Before that though, be sure to see the clever Salma Hayek in the 2023 new movie release Magic Mike’s Last Dance when it drops on February 10th.
