This evening, Miss Colombia was crowned Miss Universe, at the Miss Universe pageant. This was a mistake: it was Miss Philippines who should have been crowned (and was, eventually), but host Steve Harvey read the cue card wrong.
Here is a video of the incident.
Harvey was quick to take responsibility. “I want to apologize emphatically to Miss Philippians and Miss Columbia,” he tweeted. “This was a terribly honest human mistake and I am so regretful.”
However, neither “Philippians” nor “Columbia” are countries. The tweet was promptly deleted.
For such a ludicrous mistake to be made in as regimented a spectacle as the Miss Universe contest is essentially unheard of—especially at its climax—whether this was staged is probably an open question. Regardless, Colombia looks pretty devastated.
Update – 10:55 pm
Here’s a closer look at the cue card itself.
Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.