Have you been ‘Colombia-zoned’?

PIA Wurtzbach joined the Bb. Pilipinas pageant three times in order to win the title that would send her to the Miss Universe competition.

All the patience she must have gained came in handy yesterday, when she was nearly robbed of the Miss Universe crown.

For viewers with social media accounts, the pageant’s twist seemed like the most brutal and awkward blunder in the history of the pageant: announcing and crowning a winner, only to take it all back a few minutes later.

Sorry, Miss Colombia. It was Miss Philippines who won.

Less than an hour after Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo’s humiliation onstage, social networking sites were abuzz with memes, most of them mocking host Steven Harvey’s mistake.

“Colombia-zoned” and “Colombia-phobia” were among the newly coined terms that quickly spread on Facebook and Twitter yesterday.

“Colombiazoned— kanang abi nimo ikaw na pero nasayop ra diay (Colombiazoned: when you think it’s you, but apparently it was just a mistake),” student Mhaiko Jeff la Rosa posted on his Facebook account.

“Colombiaphobia: the fear of being too happy because something tragic will happen,” posted Twitter user Kenneth Senoron.

Lost her moment

While many social media users sympathized with Miss Colombia, others said it was Wurtzbach who got robbed. She didn’t get to enjoy those giddy moments right after being crowned the loveliest woman on the planet (or in this case, the universe).

“Everyone seems to be more concerned about Miss Colombia. Well, in fact, it’s the night of Miss Philippines. She didn’t even have her final walk. The shining moment as Miss U 2015 was stolen from her,” posted data analyst Bernadete Aquino Berg on Facebook.

Stacey Biano, a transgender model and pageant enthusiast, said she knew that Wurtzbach would make it.

“Pia was flawless from the prelims to the finals. She also nailed the two question-and-answer rounds. Another great advantage is the huge Filipino crowd in the audience and the global voting system in each round of competition,” she said.

Biano said the preparations that pageant candidates must go through is not easy, that’s why the public should also not throw jokes at Miss Colombia.

“She doesn’t deserve such embarrassment. But that’s life, sometimes such circumstances happen. But she handled that moment well,” Biano said. “I’m proud of her.”

World-class

Asked for his reaction, acting Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said that Wurtzbach’s win showed that the intelligence and beauty of a Filipina is world-class.

“She conquered the universe. That just goes to show that a Filipina beauty is a world-class beauty,” Labella said.

While the Provincial Women’s Commission (PWC) opposes the treatment of women as commodities, Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said they supported Miss Universe, which she described as a prestigious beauty pageant.

“We are not against beauty pageants. In the PWC, we are against the commercialization of women. But in a beauty pageant like this, these are prestigious pageants, and we are okay with it. We are happy. I’m happy for the women of the Philippines,” said Magpale, vice chairperson of PWC.

The vice governor was among those who watched the bizarre end to the ceremony during the live telecast. “I saw her (Wurtzbach) on TV. I thought she was really good material, maay’ng motubag pero sad kaayo nga nasayop og announced (She answered well. It was just sad that the host made a mistake in announcing the winner). But, of course, we are very happy,” the vice governor added.

Movie-worthy

For Facebook user Helen Troncoso, Harvey’s mistake was “the biggest blunder in pageant history.”

“When they crown and dethrone you all under three minutes. Most awkward, brutal thing ever,” Vivienne Rosette Tesoro posted on Facebook shortly after the pageant.

But some people defended Harvey. Before the day ended, the American TV host and actor’s Wikipedia page was updated to reflect his gaffe. (He also repeatedly apologized to both Miss Colombia and Miss Universe, both backstage and on his Twitter account.)

“But Steve Harvey did make a human mistake and handled it well. Some people are bashing him, acting like they never made a mistake before,” said Sasha Chenaii on Facebook.

Owen Quirino posted: “Thanks to Steve Harvey for admitting his honest mistake—it was a gracious but epic, movie-worthy scene.”

Rhonda Coleman had an idea for how Harvey can make it up to Miss Colombia. “Steve Harvey should just hand over his check as host to Miss Colombia for the embarrassment he caused her,” she said on Facebook.