# Miss Universe: Wrong Contestant Crowned **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975 "2015-12-21T04:26:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/1 "2015-12-21T04:26:35Z")
Oh man…did anyone else see this? How humiliating for Miss Colombia. I can’t believe Steve Harvey screwed up that badly. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EvegBo4TUdQ/hqdefault.jpg "HD: (FULL) Steve Harvey Messes Up On Miss Universe 2015! COLOMBIA x Philippines") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvegBo4TUdQ) ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/2 "2015-12-21T04:29:49Z")
Much harder for Miss Philippines. Couldn’t smile, didn’t know what to believe (or whom to trust. 😃 ) Don’t they usually hire an auditing firm to do the tallying? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/3 "2015-12-21T04:33:53Z")
I just watched the clip. I give Steve Harvey credit for 100% owning it. He showed the card, which was correct, but he read it wrong. We all make mistakes, but he owned his and apologized. I actually admire how he handled it. And, for the record, I’m not a Steve Harvey fan at all. I actually find him kind of annoying usually. Like, almost always. However, he handled this mistake with class. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/4 "2015-12-21T04:36:52Z")
My wife is asleep beside me so I can’t watch with sound, but how did he actually screw up? Did he just not read the card in front of him somehow? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/5 "2015-12-21T04:39:46Z")
:eek::smack:☹ Oh, that is awful! ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/6 "2015-12-21T05:00:17Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Much harder for Miss Philippines. Couldn’t smile, didn’t know what to believe (or whom to trust. 😃 ) Don’t they usually hire an auditing firm to do the tallying? There was a firm that did the tallying. Steve Harvey just screwed up. > [@USCDiver](#): > > My wife is asleep beside me so I can’t watch with sound, but how did he actually screw up? Did he just not read the card in front of him somehow? That’s how it appears. I guess he thought the 1st runner up line on his card was the winner. How sad that she took her walk and was wearing the crown before they realized the mistake. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/7 "2015-12-21T05:38:59Z")
I can imagine a nervous first-timer can mis-read something like this. [![](http://tinypic.com/images/goodbye.jpg) ](http://tinypic.com/images/goodbye.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/8 "2015-12-21T05:58:35Z")
It’s hard to say what was possible and not possible in the moment during the broadcast but it really seems like the two women should have been informed of the error _before_ Steve Harvey made the information public, so they would have a chance to compose themselves. As it is both women were caught flat footed and frankly I would not have blamed Columbia for just completely breaking down right there (and then had she done so, you just know the whole world would be calling her names–a further injustice). It wasn’t fair of the show to put her in that position. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/9 "2015-12-21T06:03:21Z")
This happened in a New Zealand pageant (about 30 years ago) for a similar reason - misreading “first runner up” as “first place”. It’s a confusing nomenclature. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/10 "2015-12-21T06:42:07Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I just watched the clip. I give Steve Harvey credit for 100% owning it. He showed the card, which was correct, but he read it wrong. > > We all make mistakes, but he owned his and apologized. I actually admire how he handled it. > > And, for the record, I’m not a Steve Harvey fan at all. I actually find him kind of annoying usually. Like, almost always. However, he handled this mistake with class. Well, he had little choice but to tell the truth. What an idiot. I hate to say it but YOU HAD ONE JOB. Steve Harvey gets a big Price is Right Loser sounder for that one. That said, I would 100% bring him back to host next year, can you imagine the ad gimmicks you can come up with? Hell, if Im on Madison Avenue, Im already throwing $$$$ at him to do a Super Bowl commercial based on this boner. As for Miss Colombia, I predict she will cash in on this in more ways than Miss Philippines would ever imagine. She’ll be fine. Its just a stupid beauty pageant, anyway, maybe one of the lowest forms of competition. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/11 "2015-12-21T06:44:08Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > I can imagine a nervous first-timer can mis-read something like this. > > [http://i67.tinypic.com/11gmuqh.jpg](http://i67.tinypic.com/11gmuqh.jpg) Nervous first timer??? He hosts Family Feud for a living. This was an all-time choke. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/12 "2015-12-21T06:44:30Z")
Well, Harvey did apologize on tweeter too, but then had another boner for that too. There were no “Philippians” or “Columbia” contestants, unless ancient Thrace or the D.C. sent contestants. :smack: , and I see that **Frylock** deserves a smack too… 🙂 the correct way are the **Philippines** and **Colombia**. Harvey had to correct that too. > **[Oh no! Steve Harvey crowns wrong woman Miss Universe](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2015/12/20/steve-harvey/77681786/)** > > And then he apologized in the worst-spelled tweet of 2015. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/13 "2015-12-21T06:53:16Z")
Still, as bad as this was, no one will top Neon Deion co-hosting the Miss USA pageant: "GIRRRLFRIEND AH AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!" ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/14 "2015-12-21T07:26:25Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Nervous first timer??? He hosts Family Feud for a living. This was an all-time choke. There’s a difference between hosting a game show once a week and a pageant once a year, assuming you’ve been hosting MU a number of times now, which Harvey hasn’t. In my job, I do things as a matter or routine daily, weekly, even monthly to a point that I can do all of them without really thinking. But an annual exercise wherein you relearn or revisit everything? That’s hard. In the same way, when hosting MU for the first time, you basically call on your long experience on stage or in front of the camera, to execute things cleanly and smoothly without foul-ups. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/15 "2015-12-21T07:34:00Z")
I think one issue is the dumb terminology as “first runner up.” It always threw me as a kid. First place, second place, etc are much better. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/16 "2015-12-21T07:37:57Z")
An elevator with upper ground, lower ground, and first floor on the console shouldn’t excuse you from getting off the wrong floor. I’m ticking this off as lack of experience. Harvey should be allowed another shot next year. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/17 "2015-12-21T08:13:38Z")
This is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened. I had to watch it a few seconds at a time with breaks in between, because it almost physically hurts to see it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/18 "2015-12-21T10:42:15Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > I can imagine a nervous first-timer can mis-read something like this. > > [http://i67.tinypic.com/11gmuqh.jpg](http://i67.tinypic.com/11gmuqh.jpg) Looks like a circa-2000 Palm Beach, Florida presidential election ballot! ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/19 "2015-12-21T12:02:32Z")
Has anyone contacted Miss Thessalonians for comment? ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975/20 "2015-12-21T12:33:44Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > There’s a difference between hosting a game show once a week and a pageant once a year, assuming you’ve been hosting MU a number of times now, which Harvey hasn’t. In my job, I do things as a matter or routine daily, weekly, even monthly to a point that I can do all of them without really thinking. But an annual exercise wherein you relearn or revisit everything? That’s hard. In the same way, when hosting MU for the first time, you basically call on your long experience on stage or in front of the camera, to execute things cleanly and smoothly without foul-ups. I just consulted the Big Book of Difference (2015 edition), and nope, no difference. Sorry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miss-universe-wrong-contestant-crowned/740975.md?page=2)