No matter how many times we watch it, the footage of La La Land mistakenly being announced as Best Picture doesn’t get any less cringe-inducing. Moonlight was a worthy winner indeed, but the gaunt, ‘oh shit what just happened’ faces all round will be etched into Oscars history.
But who was to blame? Warren Beatty has unfairly taken most of the flak – even though he immediately sensed that something was wrong when he opened the envelope – as has Faye Dunaway, who actually declared La La Land the victor to cover up for Beatty’s stalling. A stagehand who monitors the envelopes is the most likely candidate, but that hasn’t stopped film fans sticking the tin foil hat on and looking for a bigger scapegoat.
And that person is Leonardo DiCaprio. See, just moments before he presented Emma Stone with the award for Best Actress and he left the stage with the red envelope for that award on the night. Moments later, chaos ensued and now people reckon he had something to with it.
Some reckon it was an elaborate prank for his years of waiting for an Oscars of his own
Leonardo di Caprio gets his revenge on the academy #Oscars 😂😂😂
— TikiTakaYank (@TikiTakaYank) February 27, 2017
Tonight Leonardo Dicaprio achieved his 40 year long planned revenge to the academy awards by changing the envelopes. #Oscars #Oscar2017
— Abril linares (@aprillinares) February 27, 2017
OMG this is Leo's revenge
— Trevor Phillippi (@trevorphillippi) February 27, 2017
it was fuckin leo's fault he handed the wrong envelope no?? he got his fucking revenge on the academy skdkmdkskalsksks
— ponytail keith 🔪 (@natsuki_ebooks) February 27, 2017
LEO KEPT BEST ACTRESS IN THE ENVELOPE TO FUCK THE ACADEMY ONE LAST TIME. HIS REVENGE IS COMPLETE. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST. #Oscars
— Shane (@Nyrebo_SC) February 27, 2017
Read More: The Oscars 2017 – Full Winners List
It may have been an honest mistake – presenters are known to hang on to the envelopes
@Furhan21 figured it out…. it was #LeonardoDiCaprio the whole time…. #Oscars #LaLaLand #Moonlight #WhatDidYouDoWithTheEnvelope? pic.twitter.com/d99JyEWwp8
— RoobyDee (@RoobyDee) February 27, 2017
Leo DiCaprio orchestrated the envelope switching as payback for being snubbed by the academy for so long
— Anthea (@pulpbitchin) February 27, 2017
who gave him this envelope? LEO HAD IT LAST. WHAT DID YOU DO, LEO https://t.co/TyX5bQZltU
— Jett Rink (@jessiekaiser) February 27, 2017
Leo held on to Emma's envelope (I noticed because everyone else was given theirs). It's Leo's fault. He probably set it down backstage.
— Keely (@keeeeeeeeelz) February 27, 2017
Perhaps he was just doing his bit for the environment
Of course Leo tried to recycle the envelope #Oscars ♻️
— Nick Nicotera (@NickNicotera) February 27, 2017
I blame Leo DiCaprio. He's so against Climate Change, he handed the envelope he read from to Warren Beatty to reuse, recycle, reduce #Oscars
— austin (@TheAHuff) February 27, 2017
Read More: Intenet reacts to Best Picture chaos
The theory quickly spread – but it was soon debunked after Emma Stone said she took the envelope backstage
Stone: "I was actually holding my best actress card the whole time. So I’m not sure what happened, but I wanted to talk to you guys first."
— Andrea Mandell (@AndreaMandell) February 27, 2017
But it was also confirmed that two envelopes exist for security purposes
@AndreaMandell @USATODAY @JarettSays tweeted… There are two sets of envelopes #Oscars https://t.co/6aqL41QIHd … pic.twitter.com/wPvtW50668
— Dream Development (@SonyaDenyse) February 27, 2017
So maybe he did slip it to Beatty? If so, Leo – well played
Leo's Revenge #Oscars pic.twitter.com/4pFwy408t1
— Joe Maracic (@GrafixJoker) February 27, 2017
Read More: The Oscars 2017 – The Big Talking Points