After the controversial flub which was heard around the world, Miss Universe 2015 host Steve Harvey said that he has not yet been able to talk to Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez to personally apologize for his mistake.
In an interview which aired on the “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” last Monday, January 4, Harvey said that he tried reaching out to Gutierrez and her camp but has received no response so far.
“It was horrible for Miss Colombia. And she’s the only one I haven’t talked to yet. I have talked to Miss Philippines, I’ve talked to all the pageant people, the people backstage, even me and the director had a long conversation. But I haven’t been able to reach out and talk to Miss Colombia. Have I tried [contacting her]? Yes. But I have not gotten a response,” he said.
READ: Steve Harvey apologizes for Miss Universe mix-up; misspells PH, Colombia
The comedian also said that his only regret was not knowing what Gutierrez went through after he made the erroneous announcement.
“My only regret is how this woman must have felt. And none of us could know what it is. I felt more for her more than me,” Harvey said.
However, Harvey’s claim of reaching out to Gutierrez was disputed by the Colombian beauty queen in a tell-all interview with TV y Novelas magazine in its February 2016 issue where she said that the host has not yet apologized to her for his mistake.
“No, Steve Harvey has not asked for forgiveness,” she said in Spanish.
READ: Steve Harvey owns up to Miss Universe gaffe, greets ‘Merry Easter’ on Christmas
Meanwhile, Harvey recounted that when he erroneously announced that Gutierrez won the pageant, “all hell broke loose.”
“All I hear was confusion backstage. I’m standing here in the wing. So what I did was, I said, ‘I’m going to fix this…’ I took it upon myself to do something. And all I can think of was this: the problem is that the girl who won, Miss Philippines, is standing there as a loser. She got all the votes and the points. So I’m gonna go out here and I will say that I made a mistake,” the “Family Feud” host said.
“Did I make a mistake? Yes. Wholeheartedly. And at this point of the game, I’m not in the finger-pointing business and rolling other people under the bus. So I did what I was trained to do by my father, I did what I was supposed to do: you make a mistake, you own up to it,” he added.
He also shot down claims by critics that his blunder was a publicity stunt in order for the Miss Universe to rake up more viewers.
“That’s stupid. Why the hell would I do that? What I do not participate in is a bunch of BS. If you do a publicity stunt, you do it your style. I’m already famous. Do you really think that I want to be famous like this? No. In my wildest dreams, you could not have told me this. I had to go back there and do what I think is the right thing, for Miss Philippines,” he said.
In a recent radio interview, the Colombian beauty said that the experience was a “great injustice” and that it was “very humiliating” for her.
Pia Wurtzbach was crowned as the winner of the Miss Universe, ending the Philippines’ 42-year bid for the coveted title.
Wurtzbach on Monday officially started her duty as Miss Universe by appearing in various US shows. AJH/CDG
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