Host Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner of the Miss
Universe 2015 pageant on Sunday night - and the crowd watched in heartbreak and
horror as the crown had to be removed from the head of one contestant and
placed on another on live television.
Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez wiped away tears of joy as
the $30,000 blue diamond and topaz crown was placed upon her head and she was
named Miss Universe 2015, winning the title for her country for the second year
in a row.
But her glory only lasted for two minutes.
Just as Gutierrez was blowing kisses and waving to her
adoring fans she was informed that it was actually Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo
Wurtzbach who had won the crown instead.
Steve Harvey strolled up on stage, the shame already evident
on his face, when he told the crowd 'Folks, I have to apologize.
'The first runner-up is Colombia,' he announced.
Miss Philippines stared wide-eyed at the audience, her lip
quivering as Miss USA whispered into her ear and she realized what exactly
those words meant.
Miss Universe 2015,' Harvey then dramatically clarified,
'Is Miss Philippines.'
Wurtzbach joined Gutierrez on stage as they both stared into
the audience in shock. Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega gave her fellow
countrywoman a comforting pat on the back.
Folks let me take control of this,' Harvey told the sea of
boos and cheers.
'This is exactly what's on the card,' he then said,
displaying the results on the camera.
'I will take responsibility for this, it was my mistake,' he
continued.
'I can show it to your right here, the first runner-up is
Colombia. It's my mistake, still a great night. Please don't hold it against
the ladies.
The telecast then came to an abrupt stop, cutting without
credits or allowing Miss Philippines to take her first walk as Miss Universe.
Harvey immediately tweeted after the show, spelling both
women's countries wrong as he tweeted: 'I want to apologize emphatically to
Miss Philippians and Miss Columbia.
He then deleted the tweet and re-wrote it, saying he felt terrible
and apologized 'wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines' for his
'huge mistake'.
'Secondly, I'd like to apologize to the viewers at that I
disappointed as well,' he wrote in a separate tweet. 'Again it was an honest
mistake.
‘This was a terribly honest human mistake and I am so
regretful.’
'I don't want to take away from this amazing night and
pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants.
They were all amazing,' he
continued to tweet, before once again 'emphatically' apologizing to Gutierrez
and Wurtzbach.
Social media is heavily criticizing Harvey, but he has found
an unlikely ally already in Harry Styles.
'Stop sending hate to Steve. At least he apologized and
admitted that he made a MISTAKE. Stop being so immature,' tweeted the One
Direction singer.
The Miss Universe organization released a statement
following Harvey's mix-up.
‘The excitement of live TV was evident tonight on the Miss
Universe stage with over 10 million live fan votes tabulated,’ the organization
said in a statement posted on its Twitter account.
‘Unfortunately, a live telecast means that human error can
come into play. We witnessed that tonight when the wrong winner was initially
announced. Our sincerest apologies to Miss Universe Colombia, Miss Universe
Philippines, their families and fans.
‘We congratulate Miss Universe Philippines as Miss Universe
Miss Colombia was wiping away tears backstage when she was
asked if she had a message for her fans - and she assured them she was happy.
'Everything happens for a reason,' she said as fellow
contestants hugged and comforted her backstage in the video tweeted by the
official Miss Universe twitter account.
'I'm happy for all I did, I'm so happy. Thank you for voting
for me.
Wurtzbach called the moment 'very 2015' in a video released
by the pageant.
'It's a very...non-traditional crowning moment,' she said,
struggling to find the right words and clearly still in complete shock as
Jordan gave her a comforting hug backstage.
Wurtzbach competed in the Miss Philippines pageant for three
years before she won the opportunity to represent her country in the Miss
Universe pageant.
Harvey's mistake was the final twist in the three-hour
pageant that sometimes felt more like a reality show.
The host revealed at the beginning of the event that for the
first time in Miss Universe history the audience would have a voice, their
real-time votes counted with the scores of the judges, actress
Nicey Nash,
blogger Perez Hilton, former Miss USA Olivia Culpo and football player Emmitt
Smith.
But it wasn't until Harvey read the name of the top three
that he shared that there was actually be one more secret judge. Or 77 of them
to be exact, specifically the very women they had just spent the last three
weeks in Vegas with - who now stood behind them.
'Sure hope you've been nice for the past three weeks,'
Harvey said.
The pageant began with the beloved national costume
competition, where there were more feathers than a Victoria's Secret fashion
show as the women came out in extravagant looks to represent their
countries.
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