Miss Universe 2015 Pageant Ends In Tears As Wrong Winner Announced

At the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez was named Miss Universe only to be stripped of her crown a few minutes later. The apparent mix up occurred when host Steve Harvey misread the cue cards with the names of the winner and the first and second runner up. After the apparent mix up, Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach received the crown while Miss Columbia became the first runner up.

Newsday reported the winner, Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, appeared mystified by the decision as she approached the front of the stage with Gutierrez after Harvey realized his mistake and announced that Wurtzbach was actually the winner. Steve Harvey apologized and said that he took responsibility for the mistake when he mixed up the cue cards. The crown was abruptly removed from her head and placed on the head of Wurtzbach head before the pageant show abruptly ended.

The pageant took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday night as contestants from around the world competed for the Miss Universe 2015 crown. The women who competed were ages 19 to 27 and came from 83 different countries. With a new Spanish-language broadcaster, the pageant changed ownership a few months ago when NBC Universal and real estate developer and presidential candidate Donald Trump sold their co-ownership of the pageant.

Earlier in the year Trump was criticized for remarks he made that some considered to be anti-immigrant. This caused Spanish language network Univision to pull out of showing the pageant, which was the first of five years the network was scheduled to show the pageant. Univision also cut business ties with Trump.

Trump, who starred in the Celebrity Apprentice, sued both networks and settled with NBC where he received their share in the pageant. A month later Trump sold his organization that sponsored the Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA pageants to entertainment company WME-IMG.

Manuel Abud, president and CEO of Azteca America said that it was quite a telenova, referring to Spanish language soap operas.

“It was such a shame for such an important event to the Hispanic community to be taken hostage by politics. As long as we made it clear that Trump had nothing to do with it anymore, then we should be in the clear. “

News AU reported that, once Miss Columbia Ariadna Gutierrez was crowned, she received her flowers and had her moment of glory on stage. Former Miss Universe Paulina Vega, only the second Columbian in history to receive the crown, then removed the crown from Gutierrez head and placed it on the head of Wurtzbach, Miss Phillipines. The show ended as other contestants surrounded Miss Columbia to console her over the error.

The mistake went viral on social media as fans vented their anger over Steve Harvey’s mistake. He apologized on stage and took responsibility for the error.

The controversy occurred after Miss Universe Australia Monika Radulovic just missed her chance at the Miss Universe 2015 crown when she impressed the judges and social media viewers with her Dame Edna inspired costume. She lost out to the top three contestants, Miss Columbia, Miss Phillipines, and Miss USA after she was given a question on the issue of legalizing medical marijuana in Australia. Radulovic replied that in certain instances it would be helpful for patients and the government should consider both sides of the issue.

Monika Radulovic also made an impression on the judges in both the evening gown and swimsuit competition. Her family immigrated to Australia from war-torn Bosnia, and she boasts an honors degree in society with a desire to take on political issues.

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who won the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, is only the third woman from the Phillipines to win the title, with the last contestant winning the title in 1973.

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