US Celebrities tweet reactions to Miss Universe winner mix-up

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - Celebrities tweeted their reactions after the Miss Universe pageant mistakenly announced the wrong winner on Sunday (December 20), with former pageant owner and presidential candidate Donald Trump saying the mix-up would never have happened on his watch.

 

Pageant host, comedian Steve Harvey, mistakenly announced that Miss Colombia had won, and she then had to give up her crown and bouquet to the real winner, Miss Philippines .

 

It was the first edition of the annual beauty show since it was thrust into controversy when then co-owner and U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump, made disparaging remarks about immigrants when he announced his candidacy.

 

Host Steve Harvey incorrectly announced that 21-year-old Ariadna Gutierrez Arévalo, of Colombia had won the 64th edition of the contest, broadcast live on the Fox television network.

 

The eventual winner, 26-year-old Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, a Filipino-German actress was initially runner-up.

 

But them Harvey announced to the audience that he had made a gaffe.

 

"I'd like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake," Harvey said on Twitter. "I feel terrible."

 

Trump also weighed in on Twitter, first praising the contest as it was underway, and then criticizing it after the flub, saying that under his ownership, "This would never have happened!"

 

Trump's remarks about Mexicans in announcing his presidential candidacy in June drew sharp criticism, and the Spanish-language network Univision pulled out of a deal to televise the pageant.

 

Trump, who has sued Univision for $500 million, bought out NBC's stake in the Miss Universe Organization, which produces both Sunday's pageant and the Miss USA contest. He sold the company in September to media company WME-IMG.

 

Other celebrities also weighed in on Twitter. Singer Josh Groban calling the mix-up "awkward as hell".

 

Actress Chloe Grace Moretz praised Miss Philippines while the contest was underway, and then expressed disbelief after it was revealed that Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia as the victor.

 

Meanwhile former NFL star turned talk show host Michael Strahan defended Harvey, saying he had made an "honest mistake".

 

There was no mix-up over the third place prize, which was won by 27-year-old Olivia Jordan of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

 

Wurztbach's victory marked the the first Miss Universe title for a contestant from the Philippines in more than 40 years.

 

Minutes before the pageant ended, a vehicle drove up onto a sidewalk near the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it was held and plowed into pedestrians, killing one person and injuring at least 36, officials said.

 

For the first time this year, viewers had a chance to vote on the winner, rating contestants in the swimwear, evening gown and interview competitions.

 

The panel of judges included former National Football League great Emmitt Smith, celebrity blog mogul Perez Hilton and 2012 Miss Universe winner Olivia Culpo.

 

Hilton said the two most important things about the pageant were the vastly larger audience and Trump was no longer owner.  — Reuters