The Miss Universe pageant 2015 on Dec 20 in Las Vegas, Nevada was on its way to a smooth event until the climactic ending that had the presenter, Steve Harvey, announcing the incorrect name of the winner.
The controversy happened after Miss USA was declared as the 2nd runner up of the pageant. The remaining contestant, Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines were anxiously waiting for the result when Harvey announced Adriana Gutierrez Arevalo of Colombia as the winner.
She was already crowned by the exiting Miss Universe, Paulina Vega, who is also from Colombia, when all of a sudden Harvey made an awkward announcement by admitting he had read it incorrectly. He then declared Philippines' Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach as the winner, which left everybody at the event stunned and confused.
After the announcement from Harvey, the crowd delivered boos and cheers as he said, "Folks let me take control of this." Then he added, "This is exactly what's on the card," as he raised the result on the camera, showing the clear winner to be Ms. Philippines.
It was a devastating position to be in for Ms. Colombia, who was having a hard time understanding the situation. She cried as Vega removed the crown from her on national television.
She said that "everything happens for a reason" as fellow contestants tried to comfort her backstage. "I'm happy for all I did, I'm so happy. Thank you for voting for me," the South American beauty told her fans.
The newly crowned Miss Universe stated in a video released by the organization that the situation is "very 2015". She added that it was such an odd way to win a Miss Universe pageant. Wurtzbach and Gutierrez Arevalo will surely not forget what happened in Vegas on Dec 20, so as the rest of the world.
