The two accountants found at fault for botching the climactic announcement of the winner for best picture at the Academy Awards have been officially declared unfit for any future Oscar duty, organizers of the ceremony said on Wednesday.
Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, blamed for the envelope mix-up that led "La La Land" to be being erroneously named best film before "Moonlight" was declared the actual winner, are still employed as partners of the prestigious accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a company spokesman said.
But the pair will no longer be permitted to tabulate Oscar votes or hand out envelopes containing winners' names at Hollywood's most highest honours, a spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences said.
PwC, the overseer of Oscar balloting for 83 years, had earlier taken full responsibility for Sunday's unprecedented gaffe, which stunned the star-studded Dolby Theatre crowd in Hollywood and a live television audience of millions worldwide.
PwC said Cullinan had mistakenly handed best-picture presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the back-up envelope for best actress in a leading role, an award bestowed on Emma Stone for "La La Land" a short time earlier.
Beatty, admittedly befuddled at seeing the card he pulled from the envelope, hesitated for several moments before handing it to Dunaway, who immediately announced "La La Land" as the winner.
The "La La Land" cast and producers were already on stage giving acceptance speeches when the mistake was recognised, leaving it to the musical's producer, Jordan Horowitz, to interrupt the proceedings with the announcement that "Moonlight" really had won.
"Once the error occurred, protocols for correcting it were not followed through quickly enough by Mr. Cullinan or his partner," the accounting firm said in a statement.
Cullinan was found to have posted a now-deleted backstage photo of Emma Stone on Twitter just after she won her Oscar minutes before the mix-up -- a departure from official duties widely seen as likely to have distracted him.
By tradition, two sets of sealed envelopes containing the names of all 24 Oscar winners are held by two PwC accountants on opposite sides of the stage, to be handed out to the respective presenters as each category is announced. The two accountants also are supposed to memorize the winning names.
A day after the incident, the Academy apologised to all affected, including presenters Beatty and Dunaway, and said it will "determine what actions are appropriate going forward."
Reuters
Thu Mar 02 2017
Martha Ruiz (L) and Brian Cullinan of PricewaterhouseCoopers confer on stage after the Best Picture was mistakenly awarded to "La La Land" instead of "Moonlight" during the 89th Academy Awards, Feb 26, 2017. REUTERS
Gaza Freedom Flotilla: Latihan antikekerasan prosedur wajib sebelum misi pelayaran bermula
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Latihan anti keganasan prosedur wajib sebelum misi pelayaran bermula
Majoriti Ketua Bahagian UMNO sokong afidavit Ahmad Zahid - Ahmad Maslan
Majoriti daripada 191 Ketua Bahagian UMNO menyokong usaha Presidennya, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi memfailkan afidavit tambahan menyokong petisyen Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Tun Hanif selamat dikebumi di sebelah pusara anak
Jenazah Allahyarham Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar selamat dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara, jam 3.17 petang Sabtu.
JKM tunggu siasatan lengkap polis sebelum ambil tindakan lanjut
Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri bmengesahkan pihak JKM sudah menemui mangsa buli berusia lapan tahun dan kesemua yang terlibat untuk dirakam percakapan
Kerajaan komited noktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah - PM Anwar
Perdana Menteri percaya hubungan erat kerajaan Persekutuan dan kerajaan Sabah yanmampu memainkan peranan penting dalam merealisasi hasrat tersebut.
Pemergian Tun Hanif kerugian buat negara - Musa Hassan
Pemergian bekas Ketua Polis Negara (KPN) Tun Mohammad Hanif Omar adalah satu kerugian buat negara.
Bekas KPN kelapan Tan Sri Musa Hassan menyifatkan Allahyarham sebagai ketua yang tegas dan amat peduli dengan pegawai bawahan ketika bersama PDRM.
Bekas KPN kelapan Tan Sri Musa Hassan menyifatkan Allahyarham sebagai ketua yang tegas dan amat peduli dengan pegawai bawahan ketika bersama PDRM.
Kompaun RM1.4 juta kesalahan merokok sepanjang Mac
KKM mengeluarkan 5,549 kompaun dengan nilai tawaran berjumlah RM1.4 juta pada Mac.
Jenazah disemadikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara
Jenazah bekas Ketua Polis Negara, Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar akan disemadikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara.
Ahli keluarga, saudara mara dan kepimpinan tertinggi PDRM dilihat sudah berada di tanah perkuburan tersebut.
Perincian lanjut, bersama Ridauddin Daud yang berada di lokasi.
Ahli keluarga, saudara mara dan kepimpinan tertinggi PDRM dilihat sudah berada di tanah perkuburan tersebut.
Perincian lanjut, bersama Ridauddin Daud yang berada di lokasi.
Sultan Pahang zahir ucapan takziah kepada keluarga Tun Hanif Omar
Turut menzahirkan ucapan takziah ialah Tengku Ampuan Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
Kerajaan Madani komited noktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah - Anwar
Kerajaan Madani komited untuk menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah walaupun memahami situasi itu agak rumit untuk diselesaikan, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.