Miss Universe mistake crowns Colombia before Philippines
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Miss Universe Paulina Vega, center, takes away the flowers and sash from Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, left, before giving them to Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, right, at the Miss Universe pageant tonight in Las Vegas. Gutierrez was incorrectly named the winner before Wurtzbach was given the Miss Universe crown.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Contestants comfort Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, center, after she was incorrectly crowned Miss Universe at the Miss Universe pageant tonight in Las Vegas. Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was named Miss Universe.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former Miss Universe Paulina Vega, center, takes away the flowers and sash from Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, left, before giving them to Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, right, at the Miss Universe pageant tonight in Las Vegas. Gutierrez was incorrectly named the winner before Wurtzbach was given the Miss Universe crown.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Contestants comfort Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, center, after she was incorrectly crowned Miss Universe at the Miss Universe pageant tonight in Las Vegas. Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was named Miss Universe.
LAS VEGAS » The Colombian contestant was already wearing this year’s Miss Universe crown when host Steve Harvey returned to announce on live television that he had mistakenly read from a cue card, and that the contestant from the Philippines was actually this year’s winner.
In the following moments, the crown was removed and placed on the head of a mystified Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines, other contestants rushed to console Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo of Colombia and a sheepish Harvey felt compelled to apologize on Twitter and to reporters assembled backstage.
“I feel horrible for this young woman,” he said.
Harvey said it was his mistake and that he would take responsibility for not correctly reading the card, which said that Wurtzbach was this year’s winner and Colombia was actually the first runner-up.
He held up the card for Fox network cameras to see up close. Talking with reporters afterward, Harvey and an executive for pageant owner WME-IMG called it human error.
“Nobody feels worse about this than me,” he said.
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Wurtzbach appeared stunned as she walked to the front of the stage alongside the crown-wearing Gutierrez before last year’s Miss Universe from Colombia removed the crown and placed it on Wurtzbach’s head.
Wurtzbach later said she felt conflicting emotions as the mistake happened: joy when she was told she had indeed won, concern for Gutierrez and confusion at the whole situation.
Wurtzbach said she tried to approach Gutierrez onstage afterward, but the Colombian was crying and surrounded by a crowd of women. She said she realized it was “probably bad timing.”
“I did not take the crown from her,” Wurtzbach told reporters after the pageant concluded, saying she wished the contestant from Colombia well and hoped the Latin American community understands that “none of this was my fault.”
“None of this was done on purpose. It was an honest mistake,” she said, apologizing on behalf of the organization she now represents. She said Harvey told her afterward that she “should just enjoy the moment.”
Harvey also apologized on Twitter, but at first misspelled the home countries of both contestants before also fixing that. “I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake,” he wrote. “I feel terrible.”
Within seconds of Gutierrez being crowned, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos took to Twitter to commemorate what appeared to be an unprecedented back-to-back Miss Universe win for the South American nation.
“Colombians! The most beautiful in the world,” wrote Santos. “Miss Universe 2016!!!! What pride!”
But seconds later, Santos had to reverse himself.
“For us you’ll always be our Miss Universe,” he wrote in a message to Gutierrez. “We feel very proud.”
Donald Trump, who used to own the rights to Miss Universe, tweeted today that “this never would have happened” under his watch. He softened his tone later that morning in an interview on NBC’s Today Show, calling Harvey a “great guy” who handled it well. Trump said if he were still in charge of the show, he would make the women share the title.
“I think I’d make them a co-winner. That’d be very cool,” he said.
He added: “Things happen. It’s live television,” he said.
Harvey, who was hosting the contest for the first time, said he reread the card and noticed it said “first runner-up” next to the Colombia contestant’s name before he asked producers if he had made a mistake.
An executive with pageant owner WME-IMG, Mark Shapiro, said Harvey caught the mistake and corrected it on his own, saying he wanted to make a wrong into a right.
“It was humiliating for the women. It was humiliating for him,” he told reporters after the pageant.
As all this was unfolding, a car drove up onto a sidewalk and struck dozens of people just outside the Planet Hollywood hotel-casino where the pageant was taking place. The Las Vegas Strip was soon jammed with ambulances and fire trucks, and authorities said at least 30 people were taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries and one person was killed.
Even before Sunday night’s oops moment, the pageant was involved in another controversy when a backlash against Trump led Univision to pull out of the broadcast and the businessman to sell it in September.
NBCUniversal and Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organization until earlier this year. The real-estate developer offended Hispanics in June when he made anti-immigrant remarks in announcing his Republican presidential run.
That led Spanish-language network Univision to pull out of the broadcast for what would have been the first of five years airing the pageants, and NBC to cut business ties with Trump.
The former star of the “Celebrity Apprentice” reality show sued both companies, settling with NBC in September, which included buying the network’s stake in the pageants.
That same month, Trump sold the organization that includes the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants to entertainment company WME-IMG.
Philippines presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda didn’t address the debate over the win but said, “in bagging this victory, Ms. Wurtzbach not only serves as a tremendous source of pride for our people, but also holds up the banner of our women and of our country-as a true representative of what the Filipina can achieve.”
The competition started with women representing 80 countries between the ages of 19 and 27. For the first time, viewers at home weighed in, with their votes being tallied in addition to four in-person celebrity judges.
It’s the third time a contestant from the Philippines has won the title.
The pageant’s contestant from the United States, Olivia Jordan, was named second runner-up.
Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.
35 responses to “Miss Universe mistake crowns Colombia before Philippines”
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This is what will happen when a rich man puts making a profit ahead of helping people.
If you are referring to Trump, I understand that he no longer has anything to do with the pageant. If he had, based on his past successes, it seems likely that it would have been done right.
mikethenovice should say..”I’m so stupid to have said such an idiotic statement based on me being soooooo UNINFORMED…but I am a liberal so that makes everything ok”..
Mike does post his share of trollish comments. Best not to feed the troll.
The Trumpeter just keeps slipping and sliding.
Trump sol it all seem the ne the new owner is where the fault lays
wrightj getting his low information from MSNBC/CBS/ABC/CBS/CNN/NOR/PDS combined.
Trump twitted his response…wrightj try go finding it and get INFORMED.
Trump sold the the pageant. Unless you are mad that he sold it for a profit and leaving it to a bunch of novices to run.
This isn’t about Trump. It’s about the clown who couldn’t read a card. Could. Not. Read. What a fool.
Yes, what an embarrassment that was
Hollywood is just filled with people that make the same mistakes as the rest of do. All we can do is to laugh it off, and move on with our daily lives.
An honest mistake that could have been simply corrected by having both contestant share the crown. Save face for all involved in the error!
Great logic..only if the same could have been applied to Obama TWICE!
Guess there isn’t any story that’s off limits when it comes to Obama haters is there? There’s a time for politics but to bring it up at a time like this . . . I hope you realize how pathetic you sound.
Wake up. It’s all about politics and the sad shape of our county thanks to the lame duck.
@sarge22 why don’t you get a life. Are you going to blame any bad weather on Obama too? That’s a rhetorical question BTW.
I realize you are liberal to da max.
@Keoni, I realize you are brain dead to da max.
Morimoto please taking from the Guberment and be responsible for yourself for once.
Keoni, actually I’m tired of supporting dead beats such as yourself. The government isn’t a charity you know.
Nice sentiment, but I think Miss Philippines deserves her own uncontested title.
Agree. Unfortunate incident but Miss Philippines was the winner.
The real winner shouldn’t have to share the crown because of someone else’s stupidity…I saw the card and it looks clear to me: Bid bold letters that say MISS UNIVERSE 2015 Philippines…
He should never MC anything anymore. He should be fired!
He even screws up on the game show, Family Feud.
what a shame indeed.
Ms. Phillipines was robbed of a true “glory” of winning the crown out right, instead had to endure mixed feelings instead.
and poor Ms. Colombia…
tsk tsk all around… how do they make this all right?….
any way congrats Ms. Phillipines – well DESERVED!!!
Let Mr Trump run the show and all will be good.
After Trump loses, he can do next pagent.
What a farce, we have a photo of the villain and none of Miss Universe nor the 1st Runner-up? Would love to see the photos!
it’s all over Facebook… and i’m sure if you google it… lots of pictures and footage.
The dude made a mistake. This has nothing to do with Trump. Feel bad for the contestants, but this to shall pass. You know the saying there is no such thing as bad publicity? Here is a textbook case; these pageants were really going downhill in terms of viewership. But because of this screw-up Miss Universe is suddenly on the front pages of news sites across the globe. Hey it might work out to be benefit of the pageant at the end of the day. Congratulations to Miss Philippines.
well put… my thoughts exactly…
Donald’s ” anti – immigrant remarks” really did him in.
Trump hater..and he’s not even potus…relax bro
Years ago, the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City got rid of Bert Parks. They said he was “too old”. But, the following year, after an uproar in Convention Hall on the Boardwalk, they brought him back only to read the names of the contestants. Unfortunately, he was off by one state with each name and it was a disaster. Needless to say, he was never brought back after that. He read all the names of all the states but was off by one.
Some years later, a stature of Mr. Parks was placed on the Boardwalk in front of Convention Hall and it is there to this day as a memory to a great pageant master of ceremonies. I can still remember the people in the packed amphitheater screaming Bert Parks, Bert Parks and it was live TV. He was sincerely missed by many.