A photo on X, formerly Twitter, showing the difference between Oscars envelopes from 2017 and 2024 has gone viral, and honestly, we can see how the legendary Best Picture snafu of 2017 so easily transpired.
In case the memory has escaped you somehow over the last seven years, La La Land was mistakenly announced by presenter Warren Beatty as the Best Picture winner in 2017 when, in fact, the award was intended for Moonlight.
Members of La La Land took the stage and accepted their awards before being told there was an error.
In the midst of all the confusion, Beatty addressed the crowd and explained that when he opened the envelope for Best Picture, it read "Emma Stone for 'La La Land.'" He had been handed the wrong envelope.
Beatty then held up the correct envelope and confirmed:
"This is 'Moonlight,' the Best Picture."
You can watch the mass confusion below.
Oscars Mistake: Moonlight Wins Best Picture after La La Land Mistakenly Announced | ABC Newsyoutu.be
Given the chaos and drama surrounding that moment, it's no surprise that some changes had to be made.
And, as demonstrated by the viral tweet, the envelope saw a major makeover.
For starters, the category now appears at the top of the card. Had "Best Actress" been written on the one Beatty read, perhaps none of the madness would have ever occurred.
Also, the fonts have changed.
The actual winner of the category is now typed in a larger font than the supporting information.
You can see the two envelopes below.
People on social media agree that the changes made sense and appeared to be foolproof now.
Many expressed surprise that, until recently, the cards were created without the most basic principles of graphic design.
And because of the inattention to what should have been a very obvious detail, people completely understood how the Best Picture debacle happened in the first place.
After seeing the previous format, we can completely see how mistakes happened. Thank goodness it was addressed before another major blunder!
