Now, that is one huge embarrassing moment for American comedian/TV host Steve Harvey.
Yesterday (21st December), the interwebs went berserk after Harvey announced the wrong winner of the “Miss Universe 2015” pageant.
During the Miss Universe competition that was held in Las Vegas on Sunday night (20th December), Harvey first announced that Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner of the highly publicised competition.
Ariadna’s “winning” moment didn’t last long, however. Due to an error that was made by Harvey, the actual winner of the competition was Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. As soon as Harvey realised his mistake, he announced:
Okay folks. I have to apologise. The first runner-up is Colombia.
Harvey then explained, “This is exactly what’s on the card. I will take responsibility for this. It was my mistake. It was on the card… Please don’t hold it against the ladies”.
According to Variety, the embarrassing moment was broadcast live on FOX channel around the world, as the global pageant is widely distributed in a number of 190 international territories.
The host immediately took it to Twitter to apologise for his huge mistake. He tweeted:
I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible.
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) December 21, 2015
Secondly, I'd like to apologize to the viewers at that I disappointed as well. Again it was an honest mistake.
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) December 21, 2015
And of course, whenever an incident like this occurs, Twitter would be exploding with brutal comments.
However, American professional basketball player Earvin Magic Johnson defended Harvey by tweeting:
Steve Harvey made a mistake tonight, we've all made mistakes in our careers & lives. @IAmSteveHarvey keep the faith and keep going strong!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 21, 2015
American actress-comedian Mindy Kaling also tweeted:
https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/678839998397853696
Michelle Williams, Al Roker, and Whoopi Goldberg were among the celebrities who defended Harvey on this particular incident:
Saddened by all of the hateful remarks towards @IAmSteveHarvey! Sow hate, you'll reap hate. Sow love, reap love. It could be you one day.
— Michelle Williams (@RealMichelleW) December 21, 2015
Live TV is tough and mistakes happen.@IAmSteveHarvey took responsibility and nobody got hurt. Nobody better.
— Al Roker (@alroker) December 21, 2015
https://twitter.com/WhoopiGoldberg/status/678973622158012416
The Miss Universe organisation also issued a statement late Sunday to apologise for the mix-up.
The statement is as follows:
The excitement of live TV was evident tonight on “The Miss Universe” stage with over 10 million live fan votes tabulated. Unfortunately, a live telecast means that human error can come into play. We witnessed that tonight when the wrong winner was initially announced. Our sincerest apologies to Miss Universe Colombia 2015, Ariadna Gutierrez-Arévalo, Miss Universe Philippines 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, their families and fans.
Watch the segment where Harvey made the wrong announcement at the end of the “Miss Universe 2015” competition below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9aRmmWX5XI
What do you think about the whole incident? We personally think that people shouldn’t be too harsh on Harvey as it was an honest mistake. After all, nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.
