Miss Universe: Wrong winner announced by host during Las Vegas ceremony
'I’d like to apologise wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake,' says host
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Miss Universe pageant crowned the wrong winner on Sunday night at the ceremony in Las Vegas.
Host Steve Harvey incorrectly announced that Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, had won the 64th annual edition of the contest live on television.
But he then had to admit to his mistake before announcing that Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, had won the title. She had earlier been named the runner-up.
In a post that was re-tweeted almost 70,000 times, Mr Harvey said: “I’d like to [apologise] wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible.”
“I don’t want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants – they were all amazing," he said, adding that he also wanted to apologise to the viewers that he "disappointed" with the "honest mistake".
Winning the title for the Philippines for the first time in more than 40 years, Ms Wurtzbach said of the mix-up: “It’s a very non-traditional crowning moment. It is very 2015.”
She earlier said her motivation to win was to use her voice “to influence youth”.
“I would raise awareness [for] certain causes like HIV awareness, that is timely and relevant in my country.”
With more than 4.45 million tweets, #MissUniverse2015 has been trending on Twitter with many people expressing their shock at the gaffe.
The mistake also became the subject of many memes.
In a statement, Miss Universe said: “The excitement of live TV was evident tonight on The Miss Universe stage with over 10 million live fan votes 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, Miss Universe Philippines, their families and fans. We congratulate Miss Universe Philippines as Miss Universe 2015."
Additional reporting by Reuters
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments