Beatty wrongly named La La Land as the best picture

We all thought we would be talking about the Oscars come Monday - but none of us could have predicted the reason why.

In the end, the discussion of American politics played a pretty modest role in events on Hollywood's biggest night.

And, compared to the chaos and embarrassment at the end, it was all very tame.

:: La La Land handed best picture Oscar in error

Certainly Donald Trump, wherever he was monitoring events, would have taken great delight in the remarkable end to the 89th Academy Awards.


Image: PwC tweeted an apology over the Oscars mix-up

Remember, he said a few years ago that he should probably host the event.

So, as the Oscars vote guardians PwC begin the inquest into envelopegate, what happened to the protest?

:: Oscars 2017: Live from Hollywood's biggest night

None of the big individual winners chose to make political statements when they collected their awards. In fact, they were reassuringly traditional.

The success of the Iranian film The Salesman in the foreign film category provided the expected opportunity to raise Donald Trump's travel ban.

A statement from the absent director decried the "inhumane" executive order.

Actor Gael Garcia Bernal took aim at Mr Trump over his plans for a border wall with Mexico.

But, other than that, it was largely down to host Jimmy Kimmel to keep up the assault on Hollywood's favourite villain.

He even live tweeted the Commander-in-Chief - with a "hi" from Meryl Streep - during the show.

:: Oscars 2017: The full list of winners

His gags about fake tans and racism and a call for unity went down well in the Dolby Theatre.

The man who was given the Oscar by mistake

The rest was a mixture of subtle hints and expressions of solidarity from a business that is famously liberal but also dependent on the public's goodwill.

The prospect of the movie industry using its exalted platform to pass comment on the political landscape had divided opinion in the run-up to the Oscars.

Awards season has certainly seen a consistently anti-Trump vibe with Oscars parties even replaced by protest rallies.

There was a skirmish between pro and anti-Trump supporters on the fringes of the event security.

The Academy president had encouraged those addressing the ceremony to use their free speech, but plenty chose to stay off politics.

Is this a sign of normalisation? Or that the business that usually offers us escapism delivered just that?

Anyway, Hollywood and the Oscars organisers have bigger concerns now.