Miss Universe: Steve Harvey shares apology to Miss Philippines on Instagram

The pageant’s host, United States comedian Steve Harvey, misread his cue card in front of a global television audience late Sunday and initially announced that Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, had triumphed. Wiping away tears, she thanked those who did vote for her. Miss Philippines has not said much about the mistake, except that it was “very 2015,” according to the Daily Mirror.

“We actually saw on the teleprompter, it said “Philippines, please take your first walk as Miss Universe” after Colombia was crowned”, Miss Australia shares, adding “We were looking at each other thinking ‘What are we reading?’ and then Steve Harvey made the walk down the runway and we could all see the anxious look on his face and we knew what happened”.

Harvey apologized again later on twitter, writing, quote “i feel terrible”. She later told reporters she wished the best to the crestfallen Miss Colombia. I will take responsibility for this.

The woman who helped coach Southard to success was also at a loss for words, when she watched the pageant from her living room in Mount Holly. Miss Philippines did not see this, and she joined the other women who had been unsuccessful.

Steve Harvey holds up the card showing the names of the contestants and where they finished.

Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez (L) is mistakenly crowned Miss Universe 2015 by Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega (R) during the 2015 MISS UNIVERSE show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, California, on December 20, 2015.

He went on: “When the evening gown competition happened, I thought that for sure Miss Colombia was going to win”.

“I want to apologize emphatically to Miss Philippians and Miss Columbia”, he wrote in a tweet that was deleted and replaced minutes later. “I feel awful”, he wrote Sunday.

Harvey, meanwhile, isn’t alone in leading a pageant contestant to believe she’d won when the crown was meant for someone else. Some contestants supporting Miss Colombia and the awkward moment of the new Miss Universe from the Philippines. “But I would have passed the crown and would still be proud to represent my country”.

Some journalists blamed Donald Trump, saying they could find no financial record confirming that he had indeed sold the rights to the pageant as he said he did in September. “We started a huge celebration when they said Colombia had won the Miss Universe title for the second straight year”, he told Radio Nacional.