With the Miss Universe 2016 pageant set to kick off next month in the Philippines, comedian Steve Harvey, who hosted last year's pageant, is reliving the brouhaha he caused when he announced the wrong 2015 winner.
Back in December 2015, Harvey first announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez Arévalo as the new Miss Universe, when in fact, the real winner was Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, according to The Christian Post.
Harvey revealed during a guest appearance on "The View" last week that the mistake was not entirely his fault. "I did the whole show perfectly and then I get to the end and I blew it. I'm not an idiot. I read the teleprompter, I read the card in the order, and I had an IDF in my ear. I had people telling me what to say and when to say it. And I said it," he said.
After four minutes, event organisers realised they had made a mistake. Harvey was told to leave things be, and they would resolve everything the next day by announcing the real winner in the newspapers. But Harvey knew he had to do the right thing, as difficult and embarrassing as it might be.
"I made the decision to go out there. You know what the TV guy said to me? He said, 'We'll straighten it out tomorrow. I made the decision to go back out there because my father was in my ear," he said.
Both of Harvey's parents have passed away, but the lessons they have instilled in him as a child remain to this day. "That Sunday school teacher and that coal miner were in my ear, saying, 'Do what you are supposed to do. Stand up.' So, I went out there and took the bullet," he said.
Harvey's mother Eloise, who was a Sunday school teacher, died over 18 years ago. His father Jesse, on the other hand, died on April 7, 2000.
