The Miss Universe pageant suffered a mistake of epic proportions Sunday night when host Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner of the beauty contest.
Harvey told the live broadcast that Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez had won the Miss Universe crown. Moments later, he apologized and corrected himself, saying Miss Philippines Alonzo Wurtzbach had actually won, said
CNN.
"Unfortunately, a live telecast means that human error can come into play," the organizers said. "We witnessed that tonight when the wrong winner was initially announced."
A YouTube video clip showing Gutierrez waving to the crowd in celebration received more than two million views overnight.
Both Gutierrez and Wurtzbach looked stunned at the sudden turn of events as the crown was literally taken off Miss Colombia's head and given to Miss Philippines.
"This is exactly what was on the card," Harvey said in owning up to the error. "I will take responsibility for this. It was my mistake. It was on the card. Horrible mistake. … Still a great night. Please don't hold it against the ladies."
"Steve Harvey might be the most hated man in Colombia ever – after accidentally declaring Miss Colombia the winner of Miss Universe ... and then taking it back," said
TMZ.
Harvey apologized in a series of Twitter posts.
Many took to social media to scorn and forgive the host.
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