Brian Cullinan, Martha Ruiz Banned as Oscars Scapegoats

Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz have been banned from the Oscars as the scapegoats in the best picture announcement mix-up that marred the final dramatic moments of the Academy Awards on Sunday.

The PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountants were in charge of handling the winner's envelopes during the live telecast when Cullinan reportedly handed presenter Warren Beatty the incorrect envelope for the coveted best picture award, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Faye Dunaway, Beatty's co-presenter announced that "La La Land" won the best picture award after Beatty examined the card. The movie "Moonlight" was the actual winner of the award.

The mix up lead to moments of confusion in front of live television cameras before the embarrassing mistake was announced to the audience and the producer of "La La Land" made room on stage for "Moonlight" producers to finally be able to accept the award.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, president of the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences Cheryl Boone Isaacs said she is "angered" that the show's final moments have come to define the Oscars' broadcast.

"Then, of course, there was the last 90 seconds," Boone Isaacs told the AP. "And what angered me, I would say, in these last couple days is (the focus on) this 90 seconds and moving to the side the brilliance of the day."

Boone Isaacs told The AP that while Cullinan was responsible for not giving the correct best picture envelope to the presenters, both failed to follow established protocols and act quickly enough to resolve the error. She said both have been removed from future dealings with the academy.

"They have one job to do. One job to do," Boone Isaacs said, according to the AP. "Obviously there was a distraction."

The Hollywood Reporter reported that Cullinan had tweeted a photo of best actress winner Emma Stone backstage moments before handing the incorrect envelope to Beatty.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that in a meeting immediately following the show, Boone Isaacs and Academy chief executive Dawn Hudson were livid when PriceWaterhouseCoopers representatives didn't immediately take responsibility for the error, tried to suggest it was Beatty's fault, and initially resisted putting out any kind of statement. The accounting firm eventually posted two apologies taking responsibility for the mix-up.

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