Oscars Mistake: Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz Given Protection after Death Threats

Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, the two accountants who muddled up the main award envelopes at this year’s Oscars ceremony, have been given bodyguards following reports they have received death threats on social media.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said security has been beefed up at the residences of Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz following the mistake.

According to TMZ, the pair were in fear of their lives.

The error briefly saw La La Land named as best picture instead of Moonlight.

On March 1, it emerged that Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz will not be employed to do the Oscars job again.

However, TMZ reported that they will not lose their accountancy jobs.

Image source Getty Images

PwC spokeswoman Carey Bodenheimer said that Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz had been given protection after their home addresses and photos of their families were published in the media.

On February 26, the team behind La La Land had to be interrupted mid-acceptance speech before the real winner was revealed.

It has been described as the biggest mistake in 89 years of Academy Awards history.

Brian Cullinan mistakenly handed the wrong envelope to the two presenters, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.

They were given the back-up envelope for best actress in a leading role – rather than the envelope which contained the name of the winner for the best picture.

PwC counts the votes and organizes the envelopes. It has apologized for the mix-up.

On March 1, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said that the relationship with PwC was now under review.

Brian Cullinan tweeted a picture of best actress winner Emma Stone minutes before handing the presenters the wrong envelope, and Cheryl Boone Isaacs blamed “distraction” for the error.