Warren Beatty urges Academy President to 'publicly clarify' Oscars screw-up

The Hollywood icon has refused to comment any further on the matter

Shocked faces on stage at the Oscars as the real winner of the Best Picture award is revealed (EPA)

Warren Beatty, the actor at the heart of the Best Picture snafu which occurred at the Oscars on Sunday (26 February), has urged Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs to “publicly clarify what happened as soon as possible.”

The moment in question saw presenters Beatty and his Bonnie and Clyde co-star Faye Dunaway handed a duplicate envelope for Actress in a Leading Role which had just been awarded to La La Land star Emma Stone. Beatty, in confusion, gave the card to Dunaway who, failing to notice, incorrectly named Damien Chazelle's musical as the winner of the evening's biggest award when Moonlight had won.

Now, in a statement released to Associated Press on Tuesday (28 February), Beatty said: “I feel it would be more appropriate for the president of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, to publicly clarify what happened as soon as possible.”

Academy representatives are yet to reply to Beatty's comment.

Pricewaterhouse Cooper, the accounting firm in charge of tabulating the evening's winners, has taken full responsibility for the blunder, naming Brian Cullinan as the one to have given Beatty the incorrect envelope. Following this, it has emerged that Cullinan was tweeting immediately before the error which sent shockwaves reverberating through Hollywood.

The Academy's initial statement read: “We deeply regret the mistakes that were made during the presentation of the best picture category during last night's Oscar ceremony. We apologise to the entire cast and crew of La La Land and Moonlight, whose experience was profoundly altered by this error. We salute the tremendous grace they displayed under the circumstances. To all involved - including our presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the filmmakers, and our fans watching worldwide - we apologise.”

Host of the ceremony Jimmy Kimmel described the bizarre moment through his own perspective on his US talk show the following evening.

You can find a list of all the big winners here.