Pass this beauty queen the Kleenex. After Steve Harvey botched the Miss Universe winner on live television on Sunday, December 20, the runner-up, Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, wiped away her tears backstage at the Planet Hollywood Live in Las Vegas, and tried to be positive about the situation.
"Everything happens for a reason," the emotional Gutierrez, 21, sniffed in the video posted to the pageant's Facebook page. "So I'm happy. I'm happy for all of what I did for becoming this … I'm so happy. Thank you for all. Thank you for voting for me."
Accompanied by Miss India and other fellow beauty queens from around the world, Miss Colombia managed to smile when her friends yelled, "We love you!" Ironically, the organization erroneously captioned the video: "A message from Miss Universe Colombia."
As witnessed during the live broadcast, Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia as the winner of the 2015 pageant on Sunday. She was sashed and crowned for several minutes, until the host admitted that the rightful titleholder was Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
Miss Colombia, though crestfallen, felt the love from her fellow Colombian Sofía Vergara. The Modern Family actress, 43, took to Instagram late Sunday night to support her fellow countrywoman, posting a photo of Gutierrez from her short-lived crowning moment. "Still the queen," Mrs. Joe Manganiello captioned the snap alongside a flower emoji.
La Reina de todos modos?@gutierrezary #colombia https://t.co/OXD20Olkym
— Sofia Vergara (@SofiaVergara) December 21, 2015
Like Vergara, other stars expressed their opinions about the viral moment including Justin Bieber, former Miss Universe owner Donald Trump and Harvey himself. "I feel terrible," the talk show host wrote in a series of tweets. "It was an honest mistake."
