Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach Crowned Miss Universe 2015! Philippines Wins After 40 Long Years
Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach has just been crowned Miss Universe winner for 2015.
The Filipino-German actress has been awarded the crown after the awkward mistaken announcement that Miss Universe Colombia Adriana Gutierrez won. Show host Steve Harvey retracted his initial announcement right after he realized he misread the cue cards.
Harvey then clarified that it was Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who won.
The crowd was filled with mixed emotions as Miss Philippines was escorted to the center of the stage and the crown from Miss Colombia’s head was removed.
Harvey apologized for the historic mix-up and said that it was a “horrible mistake.”
The show ended with Miss Colombia as first place and Miss USA, Olivia Jordan, as the second runner-up.
Talent and Beauty
The 26-year-old Wurtzbach won the hearts of the judges: Olivia Culpo, Emmitt Smith, Neicy Nash, and Perez Hilton. She also won the hearts of the voters who, for the first time in Miss Universe history, were allowed to chime in on the final scores.
According to Hollywood Life, Wurtzbach was specifically favored by the judges. The competition was really tight, with 77 other beauties battling for the crown. 2014 Miss Universe Paulina Vega of Colombia happily handed off her crown to the new Miss Universe.
2012 Miss Universe and this year’s judge, Olivia, also has very high standards in terms of who should bear the crown.
From 80 global contestants, they were cut-down to the top 15 after the costume competition. The Top 15 then continued to walk the stage for the swimsuit competition.
The top 15 semi-finalists were Miss Thailand, Miss Mexico, Miss Colombia, Miss Venezuela, Miss South Africa, Miss Japan, Miss Belgium, Miss Curacao, Miss USA, Miss France, Miss Dominican Rep, Miss Philippines, Miss Brazil, Miss Indonesia, and Miss Australia.
Finally, the Top 10 was announced and Miss Philippines took the spotlight. Wurtzbach finally moved forward to being one of the Top 5 contestants, together with Australia, France, USA, and Colombia.
Say hello to your #MissUniverse Final 3. pic.twitter.com/ipP075XrVb
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 21, 2015
As the competition progressed, Miss Universe 2015’s top 3 were asked to answer the big question of the night: Why should you be the next Miss Universe?
Miss Philippines answered with confidence.
“To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and a responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth and I will raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country, i.e. Philippines. I want to show the world-the Universe, rather-that I am confident and beautiful from the heart.”
The pageant was made even more exciting with performances from The Band Perry and Charlie Puth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9aRmmWX5XI
The Pageant Continues Without Donald Trump
Miss Universe, a former Donald Trump company, is now out of Trump’s reach. NBC Universal now solely owns the Miss Universe pageant. Judge Hilton even pointed out Trump’s absence in the event saying, “Thankfully Donald Trump no longer owns this pageant.”
The comedian host was even taken aback by Hilton’s comments. However, Harvey already cleared up the issue about Trump in his earlier interview with Associated Press, saying the show “isn’t about Donald Trump at all.”
Trump has become controversial after he decided to run for the presidential seat in the U.S. During his campaign speeches, as he has offended the Hispanics multiple times. Because of his harsh sentiments, the Spanish-led network, Univision, decided to cut ties with him.
They had quite a ruckus when Trump sued the company. He later sold the Miss Universe Organization to the entertainment company, WME-IMG.
[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
