But he has now explained that he was just relieved that the commotion wasn't the result of something more serious.
"I thought there was some kind of medical situation, and I had this worst-case scenario playing out in my head," he said.
"And then I just heard Moonlight won and I was so relieved that I started laughing."
La La Land had mistakenly been announced as the winner before a flurry of floor managers took to the stage to clarify that Moonlight had actually won the night's biggest prize.
Gosling described the "surreal" situation after the error came to light.
"I was watching people start to have this panicked reaction in the crowd," he told the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas.
"Guys were coming on with headsets and I felt like someone had been hurt."
He added: "Truthfully, I was also so thrilled that Moonlight won. It's such a groundbreaking film, made for a million dollars, and incredible achievement and I'm so happy for them that they were being recognised."
The mix-up might have made him laugh at the time, but there were later reports that his face "looked like thunder" after the ceremony.
More about: #RyanGosling
