The 64th annual Miss Universe pageant took place on December 20th, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Everything went off without a hitch until the crowning of Miss Universe. Our very own Miss America, Olivia Jordan, was named as second runner-up. The host of Miss Universe, Steve Harvey, who is also the host of Family Feud, made his first mistake when he named Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, as first runner-up. He proceeded to make a colossal mistake when he crowned Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, as Miss Universe 2015. Miss Universe 2014, who had also been Miss Colombia, had already crowned Gutierrez when Harvey realized his blunder.
Harvey read the card wrong: Miss Philippines was actually Miss Universe while Miss Colombia's rightful place was as first runner-up. As he walked back onto the stage to address his error and announce the rightful winner, Gutierrez was waving to the crowd as Miss Universe and the crowd was cheering her on. The tension was palpable as Steve Harvey explained the horrible mix-up, and although he profusely apologized for his honest mistake, the damage was done. For Miss Colombia, it was as though her dreams shattered before her very eyes, and not to mention, it was quite embarrassing; however, she did handle it with grace. For Miss Philippines, although it was a very happy moment when she was crowned as Miss Universe, this memory would forever be tinged with controversy; she did not get the moment she deserved.
Steve Harvey again apologized very sincerely on Twitter to both Miss Philippines and Miss Colombia: "I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible." He also apologized to the viewers for disappointing them and reiterated that it was an honest mistake. Although several rumors of Miss Colombia suing Harvey for the embarrassment his mistake caused have surfaced, Gutierrez posted a picture on Instagram with a very classy and touching message: "After the storm comes the calm. I want to thank each and every one of you who have sent messages of support and strength. Every one of you has become an incredible human being in my book and I am the most fortunate and thankful for having the support not only from one country but from the whole entire world."
This moment will not be forgotten, and some people will remain bitter and hold a grudge, but as we all know, that accomplishes nothing. Everyone involved in this awkward situation was very gracious and forgiving, and we as viewers should be too.
After all, this is the season of forgiving.
