--- title: Oscars 2017: Moonlight Best Picture Celebrity reactions description: Even the stars at the Oscars were floored when it was announced that Moonlight was the real winner of Best Picture instead of La La Land. canonical: https://time.com/4683818/moonlight-win-celebrity-reactions/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-27T16:59:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:41:25.986Z og:title: 21 Celebrities More Excited Than You By Moonlight's Oscar Win og:description: A night to remember og:url: https://time.com/4683818/moonlight-win-celebrity-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt642e7d32baff2d2e/6988bc1e8fd2eec581355f05/celebrity-reactions-moonlight-best-picture-win.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2768 og:image:height: 1557 og:image:alt: US-OSCARS-SHOW og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 21 Celebrities More Excited Than You By Moonlight's Oscar Win twitter:description: A night to remember twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt642e7d32baff2d2e/6988bc1e8fd2eec581355f05/celebrity-reactions-moonlight-best-picture-win.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 21 Celebrities Who Were More Excited Than You About _Moonlight's_ Best Picture Win > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Feb 27, 2017 4:59 PM UTC  US director Barry Jenkins (C) speaks after "Moonlight" won the Best Film award as Host Jimmy Kimmel (L) looks on at the 89th Oscars on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. / AFP / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images) US director Barry Jenkins (C) speaks after "Moonlight" won the Best Film award as Host Jimmy Kimmel (L) looks on at the 89th Oscars on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. / AFP / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images) MARK RALSTON—AFP/Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Feb 27, 2017 4:59 PM UTC The [89th Academy Awards](http://time.com/4680665/oscars-2017-political-moments/) proved to be one of the most memorable nights in showbiz history, thanks [to a jaw-dropping mix-up where _La La Land_ was mistakenly announced as the year’s Best Picture before _Moonlight_ was announced as the true winner](http://time.com/4683502/oscars-2017-best-picture-moonlight-la-la-land-mix-up/). It was a shocking situation that confused just about everyone, including all of the stars in attendance at the ceremony. [Best Actress winner and _La La Land_ star Emma Stone](http://time.com/4683489/oscars-2017-emma-stone-win/), took time in her post-show interview to share how happy she was about [_Moonlight_](http://time.com/4540116/barry-jenkins-moonlight-enchants/)_‘s_ win, while others, like Oprah Winfrey and Jessica Chastain, took to their Twitter accounts to share their excitement for _Moonlight’s_ win. See the 21 best celebrity reactions to _Moonlight_‘s incredible Best Picture win at the 2017 Oscars below. Emma Stone had an “OMG” moment on stage when she realized that _Moonlight_ was the real Best Picture winner. In her [post-show interview](https://twitter.com/THR/status/836093293830164481), she revealed that she was beyond happy for their win. “I f—ing love _Moonlight,”_ she said. “Of course it was an amazing thing to hear them say _La La Land_ — we would have loved to win best picture, but we’re so happy for _Moonlight_. I think it’s one of the best films of all time, so I was pretty beside myself.” > [](https://twitter.com/nadatostada/status/836085289542021122) The surprise ending made this Oscars ceremony one of the best for Oprah Winfrey. > [](https://twitter.com/Oprah/status/836083879286980609) Actor Constance Wu couldn’t contain her excitement for the cast of _Moonlight._ > [](https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/836087359917580288) While _La La Land_ actor John Legend was truly happy for _Moonlight’_s win. > [](https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/836088042888691712) Ellen DeGeneres noted that this memorable moment was only possible on live TV. > [](https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/836089108040572928) While _Moonlight_ director Barry Jenkins was still in shock over the win. > [](https://twitter.com/BandryBarry/status/836087554084462592) Jessica Chastain had nothing but love for _Moonlight’s_ win. > [](https://twitter.com/jes%5Fchastain/status/836081882433478656) Gabrielle Union had all of the feelings after _Moonlight_ was revealed as the true winner. > [](https://twitter.com/itsgabrielleu/status/836083834990940161) Ryan Gosling had a giggle after it was discovered that _Moonlight_ was the real winner of Best Picture that night. > [](https://twitter.com/AP%5FImages/status/836086280312221698) And Samuel L. Jackson got a little emotional after _Moonlight_ was revealed the Best Picture winner. > [](https://twitter.com/VickiHy/status/836102788375580673) Kumail Nanjiani thought that the _Moonlight_ twist upped the Academy’s game as far as awards shows go. > [](https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/836081496557441024) While Chelsea Peretti had a very visceral response. > [](https://twitter.com/chelseaperetti/status/836081574953132033) Aja Naomi King was beyond excited for _Moonlight’_s win. > [](https://twitter.com/ajanaomi%5Fking/status/836082133177356288) And even Shonda Rhimes, queen of the plot twist, was shocked by the Best Picture mix-up. > [](https://twitter.com/shondarhimes/status/836082460920205314) Issa Rae couldn’t contain her euphoria about the _Moonlight_ win. > [](https://twitter.com/IssaRae/status/836082617971716097) Tracee Ellis Ross was ecstatic about _Moonlight_‘s victory. > [](https://twitter.com/TraceeEllisRoss/status/836082711156539393) While Katy Perry was in complete shock that the mix-up happened. > [](https://twitter.com/katyperry/status/836081438407589890) > [](https://twitter.com/katyperry/status/836081470229766145) The cast of _Moonlight_ couldn’t contain their excitement as they took the stage to accept their award. > [](https://twitter.com/TrevellAnderson/status/836093269381533696) And Meryl Streep reacted as only Meryl Streep could to the _Moonlight_ win. > [](https://twitter.com/andrewrchow/status/836093417637752832) Bette Midler was happy that she stayed up to watch the twist ending. > [](https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/status/836082285598277634) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4683818/moonlight-win-celebrity-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4683818/moonlight-win-celebrity-reactions/"},"headline":"21 Celebrities Who Were More Excited Than You About Moonlight's Best Picture Win","datePublished":"2017-02-27T16:59:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:25.986Z","description":"A night to remember","url":"https://time.com/4683818/moonlight-win-celebrity-reactions/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","awards","Oscars","celebrity","Culture","la la land","moonlight","Oscars 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt642e7d32baff2d2e/6988bc1e8fd2eec581355f05/celebrity-reactions-moonlight-best-picture-win.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt642e7d32baff2d2e/6988bc1e8fd2eec581355f05/celebrity-reactions-moonlight-best-picture-win.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-OSCARS-SHOW","caption":"US-OSCARS-SHOW","creditText":"MARK RALSTON—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4683818/moonlight-win-celebrity-reactions/","name":"21 Celebrities Who Were More Excited Than You About Moonlight's Best Picture Win"}}]}] ```