Host blamed for Miss Universe blunder

Steve Harvey’s Miss Universe ghosts have come back to haunt him.

The 62-year-old host, who infamously named the wrong winner at the Miss Universe pageant in 2015, was accused of bumbling contest results again at the US ceremony on Sunday.

He was later cleared of any error.

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“Earlier this week, all the contestants competed in a National Costume contest. Here’s the look at the winner, Miss Philippines,” he said during this year’s contest, according to USA Today.

“It’s not Philippines. It’s Malaysia,” Miss Universe Malaysia Shweta Sekhon interjected while standing beside him on stage.

Flustered, Harvey blamed the teleprompter.

“Let me explain something to you. I just read that in the teleprompter. Ya’ll got to quit doing this to me. I can read,” he said.
 

“Now, they are trying to fix it now. See? This is what they did to me back in 2015 — played me short like that,” he joked, rather awkwardly.

It was later revealed that Miss Philippines had won the costume competition from earlier in the week, but Sekhon had mistakenly thought Harvey was referring to her as she stood beside him.

Sekhon’s costume was featured as part of the broadcast, but she did not win the competition overall.

“No mistakes regarding the national costume winner were made by him, the prompter or production,” a statement read.

Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi was ultimately crowned Miss Universe, after giving an emotional response to her last question.
 

“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me — with my kind of skin and my kind of hair — was never considered to be beautiful,” she said.

“I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”

The two runners-up for the crown were Miss Mexico and Miss Puerto Rico.

Australia was represented by Melbourne lawyer Priya Serrao.