Miss Colombia should thank Steve Harvey

Publish date: 2024-05-02

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Winning, and then losing, the Miss Universe pageant may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Ariadna Gutiérrez.

She’s the Miss Colombia stunner who thought she had the world in her hands — only to have it taken away when host Steve Harvey read the wrong winner during Sunday’s live broadcast. Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, was ultimately crowned the winner after Harvey’s infamous blunder.

Gutiérrez, the statuesque brunette who turns 22 on Christmas, never lost her poise during the humiliating reversal of fortune. “Everything happens for a reason, so I’m happy for all of what I’ve did,” she said.

Since then, her name has been in the headlines. Footage of the $30,000 blue diamond and topaz crown being removed from her head has blanketed the Internet as well as social media.

There are also reports that People magazine has a story about her in the works for next week. She’s being compared to “Modern Family” star Sofía Vergara, whom she closely resembles.

And now Gutiérrez has become a heroine in her native country, a folk hero for the ages. According to the BBC, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos and former President Álvaro Uribe have put aside their political differences to stand behind her. Uribe tweeted: “All our support to our queen, her dignity is that of the Colombian woman, the mistreatment is to all the citizens.”

On Twitter, the tag #LaCoronaSeRespeta (#TheCrownMustBeRespected) is being used to talk about the incident. Sunday night’s mistake resurrected the Miss Universe pageant from the ash heap of obscurity. People are not only talking about it again: They’re letting their feelings, pro or con, be known on social media — 43,000 people are talking about Gutiérrez on Facebook.

She was born in Sincelejo, Colombia, and moved to Barranquilla when she was just a baby. She later studied at the German School in town and now makes her living as a TV host and model. She was voted Miss Colombia in 2014 and is a cousin of Paulina Vega, the former Miss Universe who removed the crown from her head on that fateful night in Miami.

If Vergara can use her native talents to sell cosmetics, there’s nothing stopping Gutiérrez from marketing her brand.

On Sunday night, a star was born — by accident.

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