It seemed like a scene straight out of Miss Congeniality (this one). The Miss Universe crown was taken from one contestant and given to another. But this was no movie. This was a live, televised broadcast of the 2015 Miss Universe pageant.
Host Steve Harvey announced the winner as Miss Colombia, then retracted his statement, saying Ariadna Gutierrez was in fact the first runner-up. Miss Philippines was the actual winner.
Watch the mistake unfold here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAPE0G_Byf8
Colombians, who Fortune spoke with for this article, were angered by the mistake. This reporter, who happens to be Colombian herself, received the following reactions:
“It was a humiliation for her in front of too many people,” said Julia Sobelman, a nurse. “She behaved like a lady. Steve ought to be accountable for such a mistake.”
Carmenza Trujillo said, “It’s a blood boiling act—unforgivable. You just don’t do that. Instead of taking away her crown, they should have left two Miss Universes.”
She added, “The new owners of the pageant should have come out looking better. What they did is the worst. Even more, [Steve] was irresponsible. I have a lot of bad words for him. I want to ask him where he learned to read so I don’t go there.”
Hilda Austin, an assistant teacher, said, “He should be fired and never allowed on TV again.”
Another Colombian, Martha Lillian Ramirez, said, “if it was a human error, as Mr. Harvey says, he took too long to read the results and then much longer to rectify them. This creates doubt and distrust in the event and plays with the illusions of two people and all those who follow them.”
Fortune magazine art director Josue Evilla tweeted the following:
https://twitter.com/RealJosueEvilla/status/678935269865865217
Steve Harvey came to his own defense, but misspelled both the Philippines and Colombia in his apology. His tweet has since been edited, but according to the New York Times, it originally read: “I want to apologize emphatically to Miss Philippians and Miss Columbia. This was a terribly honest human mistake and I am so regretful.”
Of course, Donald Trump, former owner of Miss Universe, had a lot to say about this. He was, at first, very proud of the new pageant owners. Then, he was quite embarrassed of them.
My friend, @AriEmanuel of @IMG, bought the Miss Universe pageants from me and they are on tonight on #Fox! Tune in!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2015
.@MissUniverse final 3 on now. Great people, great new owner @IMG. WATCH.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2015
Very sad what happened last night at the Miss Universe Pageant. I sold it 6 months ago for a record price. This would never have happened!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2015
And Bette Midler had the following to say, which she tied to her apparent dislike of a former president:
Wrong #MissUniverse crowned last night. For 2 minutes.
Remember when that happened with our President in 2000 & we had to keep him 8 years?— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) December 21, 2015
There was at least one person who came to Harvey’s defense—former basketball player Dennis Rodman:
Hold your head up @iamSteveHarvey! We all make mistakes. And everyone who’s in the Miss Universe pageant is already a winner.
— Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) December 21, 2015
But many on Twitter reacted like this:
https://twitter.com/jakebish0p/status/678827999823716352
Miss Colombia had a filmed response to the debacle, saying “everything happens for a reason.” See her full response below.
A message from #MissUniverse Colombia, @gutierrezary.https://t.co/KBzZyyHJzy
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015
Miss Philippines, on the other hand, said she was really confused and still thought the crown may be taken away from her.
The road to the #MissUniverse crown is never easy.
A message from Miss Universe 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.https://t.co/GO7VBf45MW
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015
