When Steve Harvey accidently announced the wrong winner at the 2015 Miss Universe pageant last month, Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez had a brief moment where she was able to wear the crown thinking she was the winner, but the true Miss Universe, Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, now proudly wears the crown and has officially begun her duties as Miss Universe.
Many people, including Donald Trump who once owned a stake in Miss Universe, believe that Wurtzbach should share the crown with Gutierrez because of the mix up and Gutierrez agrees. During Wurtzbach's first interview as Miss Universe on Monday morning, "Good Morning America" co-anchor Lara Spencer asked Wurtzbach what she thinks of this idea.
"I think it would be a little bit difficult for two girls to share a crown," the 26-year-old model and actress explained. "But I have high hopes that this will give great opportunities for me and Miss Colombia and the rest of the contestants."
Even though Wurtzbach knows that Gutierrez is upset over the incident, she still believes it will lead to a great future for both of them. "I understand how she feels. I know that she's a beautiful young lady - very talented," she explained. "I think that she'll have a lot of other opportunities."
Gutierrez recently opened up for the first time about the embarrassing moment. "It was humiliating for me," she told W radio. "But also for the whole country and for all the people not only from Colombia but the other Latinos that were in the auditorium."
While many are upset with Harvey for making this mistake that will go down in pageant history, Wurtzbach still believes he should return to host the show next year. "Yeah, why not?" she told "GMA" co-anchor Lara Spencer. "I think he's a breath of fresh air, he made us feel very relaxed, the contestants. It makes us show our personalities a little bit more. I think that benefits everybody, especially the viewers."
As for why he announced the wrong name, she says, "Maybe the way it was written, it was a little confusing. I understand. It was his first time to judge a pageant, but it's OK. He's human. People make mistakes...It's television. People make mistakes and Steve Harvey was very gracious to apologize. I accept his apology and I think it speaks a lot about his character."
There's a very good chance we'll be seeing more of Harvey in the years to come as the 58-year-old comedian and host signed a multi-year contract to host Miss Universe days before this year's pageant, as HNGN previously reported. The deal is apparently for at least three years and could possibly even be as many as six or seven. Miss Universe executives understand that it was just a mistake, but think everything he did as a host leading up to that mistake was still incredible, and see no reason not to bring him back.
A photo posted by Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (@missuniverse) on Jan 4, 2016 at 3:57am PST
