Steve Harvey Weighs in On the Oscar Best Picture Snafu, Tells Warren Beatty to Call Him

Nick Schager
·Writer
Steve Harvey at the 2015 Miss Universe pageant (Photo: AP/John Locher)
Steve Harvey at the 2015 Miss Universe pageant (Photo: AP/John Locher)

The 89th Oscars transformed from a mildly predictable snooze into the watercooler topic of the year on Sunday night, when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly proclaimed La La Land — and not the actual winner Moonlight — the Best Picture. It was a simultaneously crushing and euphoric development that stunned audiences worldwide.

Watch the mixup:

And other than those directly involved with director Barry Jenkins’s acclaimed drama, no one, it seemed, was happier about this turn of events than Steve Harvey.

Related: CSI Oscars: Decoding What Happened During the Great Best Picture Gaffe of 2017

As you may remember, the comedian and talk-show host was at the center of a similar incident in December 2015, when — while hosting the Miss Universe pageant — he accidentally misread the teleprompter and, for a horribly awkward moment, crowned the wrong woman winner. Harvey took considerable heat for his snafu, so when the Oscars one-upped him in the embarrassing mistake department, he was ready to have a little tongue-in-cheek fun at the ceremony’s expense, first via Twitter:

As he promised, Harvey did have plenty to say about the mishap on his radio show Monday morning. He commiserated with Beatty, wondering if the Hollywood legend would have to suffer because of the error (which, it’s now clear, wasn’t his fault).

“Because Warren Beatty made this mistake, does he have to die? Do y’all wanna kill him? Will he need security because of this?” Harvey asked.

While taking a shot at those who left him stranded on stage at the Miss Universe pageant, Harvey extended a helping hand to Beatty, letting him know that he had the Rules Don’t Apply star’s back: “Warren Beatty had the same ‘oh, hell no’ look on his face. Me and Warren handled it great. At least the producers of the Oscars on that show walked out and stood with him. They corrected the mistake … unlike my situation [where] four minutes go by.

“Warren, I know your pain. I can get Warren through this! Call me, Warren Beatty!”

Clearly relieved that the Oscars debacle would now forever overshadow his own gaffe, Harvey finished by quoting none other than Martin Luther King Jr.: “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I’m free at last!”

Watch a roundup of the Oscars’ funniest moments:

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