COLOMBIANS sympathized with Miss Universe first runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez after she was inadvertently humiliated when she was wrongfully declared as Miss Universe 2015 on Monday (Philippine time).

In the video, Colombians were seen celebrating when Gutierrez was announced by Steve Harvey as the winner, only to be disappointed minutes later when the host slowly made his way back onto the stage to say:

“I have to apologize. The first runner-up is Colombia.”

“We were definitely thrilled, we could not believe it. We were happy because Ariadna represented all of the people from Sucre- Colombians, wonderfully- and suddenly it went from being a joy-filled moment to one that was humiliating and sad for us. I think it is really unjust,” Miss Sucre Paula Andrea Correa Ochoa told Associated Press.

Even Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos consoled Gutierrez through Twitter, saying that for Colombians, she will always be their Miss Universe.

Some Colombians think that the Miss Universe was “stolen” from their representative.

“It was stolen. They stole our crown. For me, it was stolen,” Sincelejo resident Edgar Cardoso said.

Colombian dailies, meanwhile, carried headlines of the bizarre incident, saying that Gutierrez has been a Miss Universe “for two minutes.”

Minutes after the coronation, Gutierrez broke her silence on the issue and said that “everything happens for a reason.” AJH

You can watch the reactions of Colombians here: