being named the winner on Sunday night after host Steve Harvey had already crowned Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez.
“I was confused. I wasn't sure what was going on,” Wurtzbach told ET
after her unprecedented pageant upset. “I didn’t expect that to happen
at all.”
Her shock was written all over the 26-year-old’s face during the live
telecast as Harvey admitted that he had made a mistake, and Wurtzbach
was really the night’s big winner.
She hesitated before walking up to center stage, where Gutierrez stood
with her crown, bouquet and “Miss Universe” sash. She looked to the
pageant staff and crew offstage for a cue or signal to walk up, but says
“even they were confused.”
She eventually stepped up and stood by awkwardly as the sash and tiara
were stripped from Gutierrez - who stood, frozen, like a pageant queen
caught in headlights - and handed over to her.
She said that she wanted to apologize to Miss Colombia for being so
quickly de-throned, but considered it more tactful to leave the weeping
runner-up alone right after the show.
“She was crying and then there was a crowd around her, the girls who
were comforting her,” Wurtzbach said. “I was actually very close to her
already, but I decided that maybe it was bad timing to do it now — to
apologize to her for what happened. So maybe I’ll do that in the
future.”
The new Miss Universe admitted she’s “still in awe of everything,” and
that she half expects the tiara to be taken away from her, too.
“I had to ask my (them) many times like, ‘Did I really win? Am I really
Miss Universe? Are you going to take the crown from me now?’ And they
(said), ‘No, no, you’re really the winner.’”
And for her part, Miss Colombia composed herself to give a very classy concession speech.
“Everything happens for a reason,” the 21-year-old said via a video
posted to the Miss Universe Twitter feed after the awkward finale. “I’m
happy! I’m happy for all what I did to (reach) this dream. Thank you
all, thank you for voting for me.”
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