This year’s Miss Universe 2015 pageant may very well be the most unforgettable beauty pageant in recent years.
During the coronation night held in Las Vegas on Sunday, host Steve Harvey made the ultimate mistake – announcing the wrong name in the crowning of Miss Universe 2015.
Harvey, 58, misread the card and proclaimed Miss Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner, when it was actually Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines who won Miss Universe 2015.
Former Miss Universe Paulina Vega then took away the crown from Gutierrez and placed it on Wurtzbach’s head.
Steve Harvey Reads the Wrong Name During Miss Universe 2015 Coronation Night
“I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible,” Harvey posted on Twitter.
I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible.
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) December 21, 2015
As expected, the tragic ending sparked anger among some Colombian pageant fans. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was preparing his celebratory tweet for winning back-to-back Miss Universe titles, but then the decision was corrected.
Colombianas las más bellas del mundo! Felicitaciones @gutierrezary miss universo 2016!!!! Que orgullo! — Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) December 21, 2015
“I was watching Miss Universe with my family. We started a huge celebration when they said Colombia had won the Miss Universe title for the second straight year,” the Colombian president said in a radio interview on Monday.
A lot of Colombians expressed their disappointment and anger on Twitter, putting the blame on Harvey, the new owners, the entire Miss Universe organization, and even Donald Trump, who sold the pageant several months ago.
Some people blamed it on the mafia, while others pointed out that because Colombia won Miss Universe twice in a row, it is now considered a powerhouse, and so it was stripped of the crown.
There are also some conspiracy theorists who claim that the entire act may have been staged in order to boost the pageant’s publicity and ratings around the world.
There are already conspiracy theories about Steve Harvey announcing the wrong Miss Universe. https://t.co/82K5hh70LI pic.twitter.com/WLD5AJwIbj
— Boing Boing (@BoingBoing) December 22, 2015
As for Miss Colombia, she said in an interview backstage that everything happens for a reason and that she is happy with what she did.
On the other hand, the new Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach was still at a loss for words, saying it was a “non-traditional crowning moment.”