Share Miss U title?
After 42-year wait for PH, Pia Wurtzbach wins in surreal fashion
● Third time’s the charm: Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is the third Filipina to win the crown, after Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margarita Moran (1973); she also joined the Bb. Pilipinas pageant thrice before finally winning the crown she wanted
● Host Steve Harvey’s mistaken announcement wasn’t the only first for this year’s pageant; it was also the first time viewers at home could vote online, at the same time the 4 in-person judges were voting
LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Donald Trump, who used to own the rights to the Miss Universe pageant, suggested making Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines and Ariadna Arevalo of Colombia share this year’s Miss Universe crown, after a dramatic ending that he said “never would have happened” on his watch.
He softened his tone later in an interview on NBC’s Today Show, calling first-time Miss Universe pageant host Steve Harvey “a great guy” who handled it well.
He added: “Things happen. It’s live television.”
But if he were still in charge, he would have the two beauties share the title as co-winners.
“That’d be very cool,” the American presidential contender said.
The Colombian contestant was already wearing the US$30,000-crown when 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 Wurtzbach, while other contestants rushed to console Arevalo. 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 first runner-up.
Fan voting
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.
On social media, the reactions were quick and numerous. And Miss Colombia had something to day.
About nine hours after the pageant, Miss Colombia posted on her Instagram account (@gutierrezary) photos of her wearing the crown and hugging last year’s winner, Paulina Vega. Her caption: “This moments (sic) will always be with me. #missuniverse #misscolombia #backtoback”
The post had 96,000 likes within three hours.
It was the most social media-savvy edition of the Miss Universe pageant so far, with a real-time voting system implemented for the first time.
On its website, the Miss Universe organization said that over 10 million “live fan votes” were tabulated.
“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 2015, Ariadna Gutierrez-Arévalo, Miss Universe Philippines 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, their families and fans. We congratulate Miss Universe Philippines as Miss Universe 2015.”
Moment
Wurtzbach appeared stunned as she walked to the front of the stage alongside the crown-wearing Arevalo, before last year’s Miss Universe from Colombia removed the crown and placed it on Wurtzbach’s head.
Wurtzbach later said she felt conflicting: joy when she was told she had indeed won, concern for the Colombian contestant, and confusion at the whole situation.
“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.”
Pride
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 Colombian contestant’s name, before he asked producers if he had made a mistake.
NBC Universal and Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organization until earlier this year. But 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, and NBC to cut business ties with Trump.
Shortly after the pageant night’s confusion, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos tweeted a message on his official account to Arevalo. “For us, you will continue being Miss Universe! We are very proud!”
Philippine presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda didn’t address the controver- sial 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.