Busy Philipps and Michelle Williams recall what happened in the front row of the Dolby Theater on the night of the 2017 Oscars
A mixup involving the Best Picture category saw actor Warren Beatty mistakenly announce La La Land as the winner over Moonlight
The Girls5eva actress called upon a nearby Ben Affleck to save the day since he was Batman
Busy Philipps still remembers the traumatic best picture mixup that happened at the 2017 Oscars — and she expected Ben Affleck to save the day.
While speaking to Michelle Williams, 44, during an episode of QVC+ HSN+ this week, the Girls5eva actress, 45, recalled witnessing possibly the most awkward Academy Awards moment to date.
“It’s just hours and hours and you’ve barely had anything to drink, and you have nothing to eat. You’re just out of it. You’re there, just witnessing it, the chaos,” Philipps began, painting the scene at the 2017 Best Picture blunder.
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Michelle Williams, Busy Philipps, Ben Affleck — 2017 Oscars
“Which also makes sense that he said the wrong thing,” she added of Bonnie and Clyde star Warren Beatty mistakenly announcing La La Land as the Best Picture winner instead of Moonlight, which actually won.
“This crazy thing happens. We knew because we were right there in the front row,” Philipps said of herself, Williams and Affleck, 52, sitting together.
Photos showed the group seemingly confused about what was happening during the moment.
The White Chicks alum said it wasn’t until her QVC+ HSN+ conversation with Williams that she remembered what she told Affleck in the midst of the mixup.
“You turned to him and said, ‘Do something! Do something!’, ” the Dying for Sex star told Philipps.
Apparently her reasoning for expecting Affleck to know what to do was “because he was Batman,” Williams said.
“And you expected he was going to save the day,” she added.
Laughs were heard in the background off-camera as Philipps shook her head in agreement.
“That’s right,” Philipps said, recalling that Matt Damon was also seated nearby at the time. “I don’t know Ben Affleck — I just was like, ‘He’s Batman, he’s a movie star, he can go onstage and handle it!’ ”
“He could not,” she added as Williams laughed.
Philipps and the Dawson’s Creek alum then recreated the photo of them “that became very famous” of the three sitting in the audience as they watched the mix-up in real-time.
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“It’s iconic,” Philipps said.
In a 2017 Instagram Story, she explained, “La La Land got up there, all of a sudden this stage manager or somebody who worked there with a microphone crouched in front of Casey [Affleck] and started whispering into his microphone really urgently and saying, ‘It’s a mistake! Moonlight is supposed to be Best Picture. It’s a mistake! It’s a mistake! Moonlight is Best Picture!’ ”
“We all heard it right there — like right in the front,” Philipps added. “Nobody else heard it.”
While the Batman star didn’t save the day, the snafu ended with the Moonlight cast being brought up to accept Hollywood’s highest honor.
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