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Miss Colombia addresses 'humiliating' Miss Universe blunder: 'It's been very hard for me'

'It was humiliating for me and for all people in Latin America in the auditorium'

Olivia Blair
Friday 01 January 2016 07:25 EST
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Miss Colombia has her crown removed by Miss Universe 2014, Paulina Vega, and given to the winner of Miss Universe 2015, Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach
Miss Colombia has her crown removed by Miss Universe 2014, Paulina Vega, and given to the winner of Miss Universe 2015, Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Ariadna Gutierrez, also known as Miss Colombia, said she felt “humiliated” after the infamous live-TV blunder which saw her wrongly be crowned Miss Universe for all of four minutes.

Host Steve Harvey mistakenly named Gutierrez the winner instead of the first runner-up, the real winner was Miss Philippines. Video footage shows Gutierrez graciously accepting the mistake as Miss Universe 2014 removes the crown from her head.

After a couple of weeks of reflection, it seems Gutierrez has now taken a firmer stance against the mishap, which she reportedly called a “very big injustice” on the Colombian W radio station.

“It was humiliating for me and for all people in Latin America in the auditorium.

“It has been very hard for me, truly, it has been a great shock,” she reportedly said, “I have always dreamed of this, of being Miss Universe… It was very humiliating for me.”

Gutierrez said she initially believed Harvey’s mistake – which he alluded to in a mock Instagram post on Christmas Day – to be a joke as he is a “comedian in the USA”.

Miss Universe 2015: Wrong winner crowned

The 22-year-old also criticised Miss Universe for the way in which the situation was handled i.e. removing a crown from her head on live television.

“There are a thousand ways to do things. They could have done it, I don’t know, the next day in a press conference or a press release… They did not do things the right way.”

She also reportedly said “everything comes back to the original owner” and, as she put the crown on first, feels “like the second Miss Universe in a row for Colombia,” as the 2014 winner was from the South American country.

Gutierrez’s most recent comments are a contrast to her initial remarks which came after a few days of silence amid the furore.

Posting on Instagram, she thanked supporters and wrote of the joy of “Colombia and the Latino community being talked about in every corner of the world” thanks to the blunder.

Gutierrez told the radio station that in spite of the controversy an “incalculable” amount of acting and modelling work offers have flooded in.

Although she apparently was also offered a vast amount of money to feature in an adult film, something she says she is not too keen on.

“Not all of [the offers] have been the best ones. The worst is the porno video. I haven’t received a formal offer but I would never do it for one million dollars. For an incalculable amount. No, I am joking I will never do it. No my parents will kill me.”

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