Remember four years ago when Steve Harvey infamously announced the wrong winner at Miss Universe 2015? Viewers and netizens were quick to blame him again when another flub happened at Miss Universe 2019.
Just hours ago, Harvey was on stage introducing the winner of the National Costume competition. While he said “Philippines” out loud, and the photo displayed on screen was of Miss Philippines in her all-white gown, standing next to him was Miss Universe Malaysia Shweta Sekhon in her multi-coloured costume.
“Can I say something? It’s not Philippines,” Shweta told Harvey, as quoted by Deadline. “It’s Malaysia.”
“Okay. Well, let me explain something to you. I just read that in the teleprompter. Y’all got to quit doing this to me. I can read… They’re trying to fix it now. See? This is what they did to me back in 2015 – played me short like that,” Harvey responded.
As it turns out, he really wasn’t in the wrong here.
Miss Universe organisers themselves tweeted the wrong winner at first. They’ve since taken down the tweet that announced Miss Malaysia as the winner, and replaced it with one congratulating the real winner, Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados.
.@IAmSteveHarvey had it right: Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados is the winner of the #MissUniverse2019 National Costume competition! Congratulations, Gazini. ? pic.twitter.com/L8DpAyNL9I— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 9, 2019
A Miss Universe insider also released a statement, “Miss Universe Philippines Gazini Ganados is the winner of the Miss Universe 2019 National Costume contest.
“As part of the broadcast, we also featured Miss Universe Malaysia Shweta Sekhon’s national costume. Miss Sekhon wasn’t aware we’d be announcing Philippines first, so she jumped the gun when Mr. Harvey started with that news. Mr. Harvey made a joke of it, but no mistakes regarding the national costume winner were made by him, the prompter or production.”
Despite the gaffe, Malaysians are no doubt still proud of Shweta’s costume, named “A Peranakan Indulgence” and designed by Malaysian couturier Carven Ong. (Couture lovers would recognise his creations in the Hollywood movie, “Crazy Rich Asians”).
Meanwhile, the Miss Universe 2019 crown goes to Miss Universe South Africa Zozibini Tunzi.
(Photo source: FOX | E! News)