Jimmy Kimmel describes, in detail, what really went down: 'Thank God Denzel was there'

Less than 24 hours after the drama went down, Jimmy Kimmel revealed exactly what happened, from his perspective, in those final few minutes of the Academy Awards. The host was just as shocked as the rest of the world, but he did his best to neatly wrap up the chaotic show -- thanks to some help from none other than Denzel Washington.

On Monday's episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the star explained from start-to-finish, from the moment Warren Beatty glanced, puzzled, between the mistaken envelope and co-presenter Faye Dunaway. At the time, everyone thought the actor was just being silly for suspense.

"In retrospect, now what we know is, Warren was confused, so he handed it to Faye and let her read it," Kimmel said. "In other words, Clyde threw Bonnie under the bus."

Moments after Dunaway declared "La La Land!" the real madness began -- but Kimmel, so far, had no idea. As the cast and crew poured onto the stage and took the mic, Kimmel settled into a comfortable spot.

"I'm now sitting in the audience watching these speeches. The plan is for me to end the show from the audience in a seat next to Matt Damon, who -- I want to make no mistake about this, whatever confusion there was about who won, Matt Damon lost. He's a loser."

He continued: "Matt says, 'I think I heard the stage manager say they got the winner wrong.' Cause the stage manager's on the stage -- the stage manager's never on camera; it's very unusual. So we're kind of sitting there. You figure, well, you know, the host will go on stage and clear this up. And then I remember, oh! I'm the host!"

See the worst looks of the 2017 Academy Awards:

Kimmel jumped from his seat and headed back up onto the stage, but there was no way to get this derailed train back on track. The 'La La Land' team was still up on stage, totally bewildered, as the real winners, the cast and crew of 'Moonlight,' rushed up to take their rightful spot. It was "mass confusion," Kimmel said. "I'm standing there like an idiot, feeling bad for these guys ... but also trying really hard not to laugh."

And suddenly, from the front row, a hero emerged.

"I see Denzel Washington in the front row trying to get my attention. He's gesturing and he's pointing, and he yells, 'BARRY!' Eventually I figure out that Barry Jenkins, the director of 'Moonlight,' is standing behind me, and Denzel wants me to get him to the microphone to make a speech. Thank God Denzel was there to make sense."

We now know that the insane error was the fault of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, but in case there's still any doubt, Kimmel cleared the air on one conspiracy theory.

"I did not pull a prank," Kimmel confirmed. But if he had, "I wouldn't have just had the wrong winner's name on the envelope. When they opened it, there would have been a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon."

See all the winners from the 2017 Academy Awards: