Miss Philippines is like a phoenix! In her first official day as Miss Universe on Monday, December 21, Pia Wurtzbach posted a makeup-free photo of herself to the organization’s Instagram account following Sunday’s dramatic live broadcast, when host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia as the initial winner.
“My 1st day as #MissUniverse has officially begun!” Wurtzbach, 26, wrote, alongside a pic of herself surrounded by a glam squad. In the photo, the new Miss Universe wears no makeup, smiles and holds a thumbs-up sign. “Starting it off fresh-faced and #ConfidentlyBeautiful.”
She also posted a photo with her fellow finalists — including Miss Colombia — and wrote a sweet caption. “Congratulations to all of the #ConfidentlyBeautiful women from around the world,” Wurtzbach wrote alongside the snap of the ladies on stage at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. “#MissUniverse.”
Wurtzbach’s clean slate follows a messy night during the live broadcast of the Miss Universe pageant held Sunday, December 20, in Las Vegas. While former Miss Universe owner Donald Trump said on the Today show on Monday that Miss Colombia warrants a co-title with Miss Philippines after Harvey’s blunder, one of the judges, Perez Hilton, rushed to Wurtzbach’s defense, saying she was the sole contestant to deserve the crown.
“I don’t know if the people at home could see this, but Miss Colombia was being [a] straight-up diva bitch,” Hilton, 37, said on Monday, December 21. “[She was] rude to her translator. She was giving the most awful side-eye, throwing major shade … She came across not just to me, but several of the other judges, bitchy and arrogant.”
Hilton added that Wurtzbach came prepared — and he and the other judges wanted to crown her Miss Universe. “I was like, ‘Whoa!’ She really brought her A-game and was super competitive, but she deserved it,” the gossip blogger said. “To me, there was a real beauty and grace and elegance [in her]. She was Miss Universe.”
