Sunday’s awkward and embarrassing best picture announcement wasn’t the only thing the Academy got wrong, according to the Russian Embassy in London.
Reacting to “White Helmets’ winning for Best Documentary Short, the embassy sent a backhanded compliment tweet congratulating the film’s “actors.”
The only problem with the tweet is that none of the people in the film were acting.
“Russia welcomes #Oscars award for “White Helmets” film. Indeed, they are actors serving an agenda, not rescuers. #OscarMistake.”
The 40-minute documentary film follows three rescue workers with the White Helmets — also known as the Syrian Civil Defense — who train in Turkey to provide emergency medical assistance to civilians caught in Syria’s civil war. According to the group’s Twitter page, the volunteers have saved more than 85,000 lives in the conflict.
On its website the Syrian Civil Defense organization says it acts “neutrally, impartially and for all Syrians,” but Russian media outlets, such as RT, claims there are allegations that the group has “ties to terrorist organizations.”
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office didn’t respond to the Russian Embassy’s remarks, but directed CNN to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s tweet congratulating the White Helmets on the Oscar win.
Congratulations to White Helmets @SyriaCivilDef team for #Oscar2017 winning documentary. UK supports their heroic work in #Syria
