The PwC Oscar scandal, known as "Envelopegate," occurred at the 2017 Academy Awards when PwC partner Brian Cullinan mistakenly handed presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the Best Actress envelope instead of the Best Picture envelope. This led to La La Land being wrongly announced as the winner over Moonlight.
In 2017, the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which oversees vote counting and results distribution at the Academy Awards, caused a scandal for mixing up the envelopes that contained the names of the Best Picture winners.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accountancy firm that has overseen the counting of the Oscars ballots for 83 years, has apologised for the most spectacular blunder in the history of the starry ceremony – when the award for best film was mistakenly presented to La La Land instead of the actual winner Moonlight.
The academy president told The Associated Press that Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, the PwC accountants who handled the winners' envelopes at Sunday's show, have been permanently removed from all film academy dealings.
Actor Will Smith was given a 10-year ban from the Motion Picture Academy after his conduct at the 94th Oscars, where he slapped presenter Chris Rock onstage. This ban prohibits Smith from attending any Academy-related events, virtual or real, for the next decade.
According to Mr. Ryan and others briefed on the process, a PwC partner, Brian Cullinan, handed Mr. Beatty the wrong envelope. Instead of the envelope containing the winner for best picture, Mr.
In a letter to the Motion Picture Academy, he stated that he did not feel himself to be in competition with other actors. However, regarding this second rejection of the Academy Award, Scott famously said elsewhere, "The whole thing is a goddamn meat parade.
'Shakespeare in Love' Wins Best Picture Over 'Saving Private Ryan' John Madden's “Shakespeare in Love” triumphing over Steven Spielberg's war epic “Saving Private Ryan” for best picture at the 1999 Oscars remains one of the most controversial upsets in Academy Awards history.
A: The ban followed PwC's attempt to poach Jason Davies, Neom's former Chief Internal Audit Officer, which Saudi authorities viewed as a breach of trust. The PIF action was client-specific, not regulatory, and only affected advisory and consulting mandates—not audit services.
PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) is known as one of the "Big Four" global accounting firms, providing essential audit/assurance, tax, and consulting services, helping large companies with complex financial, strategic, and operational challenges, and focusing on building trust through technology and deep expertise. They are recognized for their extensive reach, serving major corporations, and their advisory services cover areas like digital transformation, risk management, sustainability, and technology.
PwC's global leadership is taking steps to protect the firm's reputation by ending relationships with clients considered “high-risk.” The Big 4 has ceased operations in more than a dozen countries due to the market being, Too small to scale. Client risk being too high.
Adrien Brody has not publicly apologized to Halle Berry for their infamous 2003 Oscars kiss; instead, he has addressed the backlash by stating his actions were never intended to make anyone feel bad, and Berry herself later kissed him again at the 2025 Oscars as a playful "payback," showing no hard feelings, according to reports from early 2025.
Scott was the first actor ever to refuse an Academy Award (1970, for "Patton"). He was followed by Marlon Brando, who also turned down the award for "The Godfather" (1972). The reason he claimed for missing the ceremony where he won the Oscar was that he was busy watching a hockey game.
On awards night, three PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) partners know which names will be called before anyone else in the world. The votes are hand-counted and verified by the PwC Oscars team at a secret, secure location, a process which the company says takes approximately 1700 work-hours.
Celebrities Banned from the Academy Awards
“The Academy was a boys' club for a long time,” Isenberg says. “They've now finally started to course-correct.” Perhaps the most egregious snub belongs to Barbra Streisand and her tearjerker The Prince of Tides. It earned seven nominations in 1992, including Best Picture, but she was ignored.
She had seen the script on the desk of producer Pandro S. Berman and, convinced that she was born to play the part, insisted that the role be hers. Hepburn chose not to attend the awards ceremony—as she would not for the duration of her career—but was thrilled with the win.
Marlon Brando refused his 1973 Oscar for The Godfather as a protest against Hollywood's negative portrayal of Native Americans and the government's treatment of Indigenous people, sending Apache activist Sacheen Littlefeather to decline it in his stead, highlighting the Wounded Knee standoff and harmful stereotypes in film. Littlefeather's speech, though brief, brought crucial Indigenous issues to a global audience, sparking both support and backlash at the ceremony.
Citizen Kane was booed at the 1942 Oscars primarily due to a massive smear campaign by powerful newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, whom the film unflatteringly portrayed; Hearst used his vast media empire to suppress the film and rally Hollywood elites, leading to industry backlash and an atmosphere where many voters (including extras) disliked director Orson Welles and the film, causing it to lose most awards despite its nominations.
Leigh's original Streetcar Oscar was stolen in a burglary at her home, Notley Abbey, in July 1953, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave her a replacement. The original has never resurfaced.
The PwC tax scandal was a scandal involving PwC's abuse of the Australian Government's secrets to enrich itself and its corporate clients. The Treasury Building, Canberra.