CEBU, Philippines – Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, 26, hadn’t even had the crown for 24 hours, and yet, she was already dealing with all kinds of drama—but, as you can see, she’s not letting it get to her.
The newly crowned Miss Universe endured what may be one of the most talked-about moments in TV history, when host Steve Harvey accidentally called Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez as the winner, only to apologize and correct himself when realizing she was the first runner-up.
That, along with some shade from Miss Germany Sarah-Lorraine Riek, is already a lot to take on, but Wurtzbach is grateful for this opportunity, and she’s not going to let anyone rain on her parade.
Flashing a bright smile with her crown and sash, Miss Universe captioned her morning-after photo on Instagram, “42 years of drought and now it finally reigns. Mabuhay! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat!”
She added the hashtags, “#MissUniverse #MissUniverso #ConfidentlyBeautiful.”
“I’m still in awe. I can’t believe what just happened. It’s been 42 years since the Philippines won in Miss Universe,” Wurtzbach said during a press conference after receiving the crown.
And as for that infamous flub when naming the winner, Wurtzbach said, “I was very confused obviously as you might have seen in my reaction. I did not expect that to happen at all. I was a little hesitant on going up to the stage. I was looking for cues from the floor director still to bring in to the front of the stage. No one really knew who was going to take the crown from Colombia to me, so even they were a little bit confused. I’m sorry for what just happened. It’s very unique, but I’m going to see how Ariadna is doing later on. I think now is just bad timing but I hope that she’s okay.”
Someone who is seemingly taking it harder than most is surprisingly Miss Germany.
Riek, who didn’t place in the competition, spoke to Missosology about the outcome, and wasn’t afraid to give her two cents on the whole matter.
“I really couldn’t believe it. I was so upset. For me, she was robbed, as the real winner. I was very happy for Miss Colombia because she really deserved it. I’m really not happy with the result and so are the other girls, I’m sorry to say it.”
When asked why she and some of the other girls ran to Miss Colombia first, before congratulating Miss Philippines, Riek bluntly stated, “Because no one of us voted for Philippines. I’m not happy with the results.”
On a kinder note, Harvey has continued to apologize vehemently over his mistake, taking to Twitter to release a statement almost immediately after the show.
“I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible,” the “Family Feud” host posted on Twitter. “Secondly, I’d like to apologize to the viewers that I disappointed as well. Again, it was an honest mistake. I don’t want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants. They were all amazing.”