If you're waking up wondering if Sunday night's Oscars ceremony was all a vivid dream, I've got news: Yes, that actually happened. In perhaps the most public mistake in the Academy’s history, La La Land was incorrectly named the Best Picture winner by presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, who apparently had been given the card for a different award (which referred to La La Land star Emma Stone). Twelve hours later, the internet is still trying to make sense of what happened, and people are pretty confused about what to call the Best Picture mix-up. Is it Enevelopegate? Moonlightgate? OscarFail?
To be honest, I'm not really sure what the proper system is when it comes to analyzing hashtags, especially since all three were trending on Twitter at some point on Monday. Is there some kind of professional we can call to weigh in? Where's Jack Dorsey when you need him? No one? OK, I'll do my best.
Personally, I think Moonlightgate kind of implicates that Moonlight was somehow tied up in the mistake, which is most definitely not the case. In actuality, the snafu robbed them of their proper moment in the spotlight, and the entire team was stunned — nay, speechless — by their monumental win. But, hey, it does still gets the point across.
#OscarFail, on the other hand, is certainly accurate. This was, after all, probably the most epic flub in awards show history. But the Academy also mistakenly included a very alive woman in the In Memoriam montage, so it might be a little confusing as to which fail you're referring to.
If you want to go with popular opinion, it seems like #Envelopegate is your safest bet, as that's the phrase that's been dominating headlines.
But you know what? Go ahead and use whatever hashtag feels right, and, hell, why not use a combo? If Sunday night taught us anything, it's that it's always best to be thorough.
