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Miss Universe 2015 Winner Pia Wurtzbach Wants Steve Harvey To Return As Host

By Patricia Grannum
Published on: 04:12 PST, Jan 4, 2016

Miss Universe 2015 winner Pia Wurtzbach admitted that she wants Steve Harvey to return as the host of the pageant, E! Online reports.

During her first interview as the pageant winner on Good Morning America, Wurtzbach revealed that she’d forgiven the Family Feud host and comedian for his blunder and doesn’t see the problem with him potentially hosting Miss Universe again.

“Yeah, why not?” the Filipino beauty told Good Morning America’s Lara Spencer when she was asked if Harvey should return as host. “I think he’s a breath of fresh air, he made us feel very relaxed, the contestants. It makes us show our personalities a little bit more. I think that benefits everybody, especially the viewers.”

On the night of the pageant, Steve Harvey mistakenly announced that Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, was the winner. Guitierrez was crowned and took her victory walk, presuming that nothing was wrong and that she was the rightful Miss Universe 2015. However, Harvey soon corrected his mistake and declared that Miss Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, was the actual winner. The crown had to be removed from Miss Colombia’s head in what many have called the most awkward Miss Universe crowning in recent memory.

During her interview, Pia Wurtzbach said that she “has her theories” on why Steve Harvey made the mistake.

“Maybe the way it was written, it was a little confusing,” she said. “I understand. It was his first time to judge a pageant, but it’s OK. He’s human. People make mistakes.”

It looks like Harvey also earned Wurtzbach’s respect when he publicly apologized soon after he made his embarrassing mistake.

“It’s live television,” she said. “People make mistakes and Steve Harvey was very gracious to apologize. I accept his apology and I think it speaks a lot about his character.”

As E! Online reports, after Steve Harvey’s error, former pageant owner Donald Trump suggested that Pia and Ariadna be declared co-winners. Wurtzbach said that while she wishes Miss Colombia the best, that solution probably wouldn’t be realistic.

“I think it would be a little bit difficult for two girls to share a crown, but I have high hopes that this will give great opportunities for me and Miss Colombia,” she explained.

Miss Colombia, on the other hand, was understandably upset when the crown was taken from her and was emotionally wounded by the entire ordeal, Fox News reported at the time.

“It was very humiliating for me, but also for the whole country and for all the people not only from Colombia but the other Latinos that were in the auditorium,” Ariadna Gutierrez told Colombia’s W Radio.

Gutierrez said that at the time, she thought the whole mix-up was actually a joke being played by Steve Harvey.

She said she remembers thinking that “this is going to be a joke because in the rehearsals he used to play around with questions and I thought he was going to continue with that same tone to make people laugh.”

There was speculation that the Steve Harvey mistake was actually a publicity stunt meant to boost the Miss Universe Pageant ratings.

“If that was the goal, they succeeded,” Gutierrez said.

Miss Colombia also responded to rumors that she was offered $1 million by Vivid Entertainment to star in a porn film. Guitierrez said that it wasn’t a serious offer and she’s not considering it because her parents “would kill her.”

As for Steve Harvey, we’ll more than likely see him hosting the Miss Universe Pageant 2016. As Entertainment Tonight reports, Harvey signed a multi-year contract to host the pageant, according to an insider source. The source adds that Harvey is being paid “more than they’ve ever paid before for a host.”

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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