In case you missed the most awkward five minutes of television in a while, Steve Harvey, who hosted this year's Miss Universe pageant, misspoke and called out the wrong women for the title, Miss Colombia, when, in fact, she had taken the first runner-up spot. Then, on live television, he corrected himself and crowned Miss Philippines.
Now, anything can happen on live television, and Steve Harvey is only human and will make mistakes from time to time, but the way the situation was handled was beyond unprofessional and ruined the moment for both women.
I've seen a scenario like this play out on a smaller scale at World qualifying events for competitive dance. At awards, each division's results are started by calling out the number of the competitors who made the cut to go onto the World Championships the following year. The girls sprint on stage, jumping for joy and often crying and hugging their friends that made the cut with them. But in some scenarios, this moment is cut short for some.
The announcer will sometimes call up too many girls, or announce "competitor 123" instead of "132." It's a tough spot, especially when results are results, but when it's your job to get your facts straight, one misstep can crush a person's dream.
I can't imagine how Miss Colombia must feel right now, having felt that her work had finally paid off, relishing in the moment she was crowned, only to have it publicly torn from her just seconds later. And Miss Philippines must be so conflicted, having seen a fellow pageant woman live that moment, then seconds later having to be the one who took that away from her. Plus, the poor woman didn't even get to enjoy her victory as she should!
Someone on the production side should have taken the liberty to leave things as they were for the evening, and announce the mistake in the morning. That would have saved everyone involved the humiliation of one simple mistake. And if this situation was a publicity stunt to increase ratings, shame on them. Shame on them for taking a huge moment in a woman's life and making it a public spectacle.
Watch the moment, below.
