Sunday night’s Oscars telecast, like any major event these days, was parsed in real time on social media, with everything from the worst dresses to the most awkward moments to the shock wins filtered, analyzed and argued over within minutes through Twitter, Instagram and the like. Various hashtags trended as a mark of audience outrage, including #OscarsSoAwkward, #OscarsSoWhite and #OscarsSoBoring. One of the evening’s most controversial moments happened before the show even started, when Whoopi Goldberg was mistaken for Oprah Winfrey.
The Twitter account for Total Beauty sent out a photo of Goldberg on the red carpet accompanied by a breathless tweet. “We had no idea @Oprah was #tatted. And we love it. #Oscars.” Twitter predictably jumped all over the mistake. “I’m absolutely appalled at the ignorance of this account,” reads one tweet. Total Beauty apologized for what it calls a ‘snafu’ and offered $10,000 to a charity favored by Winfrey and Goldberg. As for Goldberg herself, she didn’t seem to mind the mistake. “I feel pretty good if you’re comparing me to Oprah!”
