Runner-up Mistakenly Crowned Miss Universe Winner
Host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia as the winner; A few minutes later her crown and sash were taken and given to Miss Philippines
Miss Philippines won this year's Miss Universe competition Sunday in Las Vegas, but Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach's crowning was delayed when host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced the first runner-up, Miss Colombia, as the winner. Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo initially was crowned and blew kisses to the audience for a few minutes on live television before Harvey returned to the stage with an apology. He said he took full responsibility for wrongly reading the card announcing the winner and the runners-up. Wurtzbach, Miss Philippines, appeared stunned at the announcement as she walked up to Arevalo, who was still wearing the Miss Universe crown. Eventually, the crown was transferred to Wurtzbach. Adding insult to injury, Harvey tweeted an apology in which he misspelled both Colombia and Philippines. The mistakes were later corrected. Olivia Jordan, from the U.S. western state of Oklahoma, was the second runner-up. Presidential candidate Donald Trump and NBCUniversal were co-owners of the Miss Universe Organization until earlier this year. Trump made disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants when he announced his bid for president, causing Spanish language network Univision to pull out from broadcasting Miss Universe and NBC to cut business ties with Trump. The pageant aired on the Fox network.