Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach stopped by Good Morning America and Live With Kelly and Michael on Monday, the first official day of her reign, where she talked about getting the crown after Steve Harvey famously flubbed the results on live TV.
Wurtzbach told Good Morning America that she “has [her] theories” as to why Harvey initially declared first runner-up Miss Colombia to be the winner of the pageant.
“Maybe the way it was written, it was a little confusing,” Wurtzbach said on GMA. But the woman who wound up with the crown forgives Harvey for his gaffe: “I understand. It was his first time to judge a pageant, but it’s OK. He’s human. People make mistakes … Steve Harvey was very gracious to apologize. I accept his apology and I think it speaks a lot about his character.”
Still Wurtzbach doesn’t seem to like the idea floated by former Miss Universe owner Donald Trump and Miss Colombia that the two women share the crown.
“I think it would be a little difficult for two girls to share a crown,” Wurtzbach told GMA. “But I have high hopes that this will give great opportunities for me and Miss Colombia and the rest of the contestants.”
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She does understand the anger from Miss Colombia’s fans on social media.
“I understand how they feel because of course they want their [contestant] to win. So that’s completely understandable,” Wurtzbach said. “If it was the other way around, I’m sure [people from the Philippines] would feel a little disappointed with the results.”
Still, Wurtzbach, who said she has been in touch with Miss Colombia to wish her a happy birthday, said she asked the first-runner-up how she’s doing and it seems as though she’s OK.
“I understand how she feels,” Wurtzbach said. “She’s a beautiful young lady, very talented. I’m sure she’ll have other opportunities. She’ll do very well, I’m sure.”
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On Live, Wurtzbach said when she was initially (and erroneously named first-runner-up), she thought, “OK, I made it this far. I’m pretty sure I made my country proud and that’s good enough for me. I know I did everything I could. I know I did very well.”
But she was even more excited when he revealed that she was, in fact, the winner, explaining on both morning shows that she participated in the Miss Philippines pageant two previous times before winning and advancing to Miss Universe and that her win was the first in 42 years for a contestant from the Philippines.
