The 2017 Oscars already exist in infamy for their “Moonlight”-“La La Land” Best Picture snafu, but the awards show was rescued from ending on an even more awkward note by an unlikely hero: Denzel Washington.
Washington guested on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday, when the ABC late-night talk show host publicly thanked “The Equalizer 2” star for saving his butt.
“I was confused, as was everyone — except for you,” Jimmy Kimmel recalled that fateful night, his first effort as Academy Awards emcee. “I didn’t know what exactly to do, and I looked out in the audience and you were looking at me and you… point at Barry Jenkins, the director of ‘Moonlight,’ and you go, ‘Bring him to the mic.’”
“And I was like, ‘Uh, yeah, OK’ and then I went and got Barry,” the comedian continued. “You saved me and the Oscars.”
“I didn’t win an Oscar, I just saved the Oscars,” Washington countered.
Chill, Denzel, you’ve got two of those awards.
Watch their conversation on the video above.
Back then, an envelope mishap led presenter Warren Beatty to call up Lionsgate musical “La La Land” for the 2017 awards show’s top honor — which actually belonged to A24 picture “Moonlight.
Washington’s new movie “The Equalizer 2” hits theaters on Friday, July 20.