Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega (Colombia) removes the crown off of Miss Columbia to give to Miss Philippines. Photo courtesy of The Miami Herald.
Summary: Two attorneys from Colombia threaten to sue the Miss Universe pageant because their beauty queen had her crown taken away in an embarrassing gaffe.
Two Colombian lawyers are filing a lawsuit against the Miss Universe competition. They believe their country is entitled to the 2015 crown and it cannot be take away from them.
To recap, the entire world watched in amazement on Sunday as host Steve Harvey, 58, mistakenly announced Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, as Miss Universe 2015, even though Miss Philippines,Pia Wurtzbach, was the actual winner. After Miss Colombia was crowned, Harvey awkwardly had to confess his mistake, and the real winner was announced.
In addition to apologizing on TV, Harvey took to Twitter to apologize in a since deleted tweet that was filled with embarrassing spelling errors.
The results announcement card Harvey used was later released to the public, and the card’s misfortunate graphic design may have been the reason Harvey made the epic gaffe.
The strange graphic design may have set up host Steve Harvey for failure. Photo courtesy of Times of India.
Miss Colombia relinquished the crown on stage to the real winner, but her countrymen were not as gracious. Their anger exploded online, and the hashtag #Lacoronaserepeta (“The crown must be respected”) was the trending topic on the country’s social media networks.
Colombia is a nation that takes beauty pageants seriously, says The Miami Herald. The nation has produced numerous finalists, and in 2014, Colombia’s Maria Paulina Vega took the crown. It was she who crowned Miss Colombia and then Miss Philippines.
Law firm De la Espriella of Colombia said two of their attorneys plan to file a suit against the pageant.
“The crown is an acquired right that cannot be taken away from us,” the company said on Twitter. “At this moment we’re writing the lawsuit.”
While litigation may or may not occur, Miss Colombia, Guterrez, remained positive in the press.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Gutiereez said.
The Miss Universe pageant was previously owned by presidential hopeful, Donald Trump, who appeared delighted by its screw-ups after he sold it.
“@drdoucette: #MissUniverse DonaldTrump must be overjoyed that as soon as he sells the pageant it goes off the rails. We need you Mr Trump
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2015
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article50966405.html