Oscars 2016: Whoopi Goldberg mistaken for Oprah by beauty website

It's pretty embarrassing when a brand that deals with looks cannot differentiate between two famous celebrities. But that's exactly what happened during the Oscars on 28 February when an LA-based beauty company mistook Whoopi Goldberg for Oprah Winfrey.

Total Beauty, a product review website, became a source of ridicule when they posted a tweet to their 51,000 followers with a photo of the View co-host at the awards' red carpet, confusing her for the media proprietor and talk show host.

"We had no idea @Oprah was tatted," the tweet read.

Twitter was quick to pounce on the blooper, which was retweeted over 2,000 times before the website removed it. Oprah made her film debut alongside Goldberg in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple.

Total Beauty later posted an apology to both the actresses as well as any fans offended by their mistake.

Talking to reporters, Goldberg, who won an Academy Award back in 1991 for her role in Ghost, explained why she had not boarded the Oscar White train. "Let me tell you something, one of the years that I hosted, Jesse Jackson boycotted," she told People magazine. "The Color Purple, when we were nominated for 11 awards, was boycotted by the NAACP."

"Boycotts — to me — are a pain in the butt. If you want to (boycott)... don't go see the movie.... If we're not here, then we're really not here."

The Sister Act actress has hosted the Oscars four times in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002 and was the first African-American woman to do so.