As your Facebook friends have been kind enough to point out all day, longtime Family Feud host and Cleveland native Steve Harvey hosted the Miss Universe Pageant last night in Las Vegas, where he crowned the wrong woman the winner. Oops!

Harvey announced Miss Colombia as this year’s winner, but soon realized that Miss Philippines was the true queen. 


https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z9aRmmWX5XI


As seen in the video above, Miss Philippines cautiously descends to center stage, where the awkwardness climaxed as the crown was lifted off Miss Colombia’s head and placed atop Miss Philippines’. The Internet, of course, exploded immediately, calling out the classic TV mishap:

Harvey, a comedian, author, and TV/radio host, took to Twitter to apologize various times last night. In his initial Twitter apology, which was soon deleted, he failed yet again, spelling the names of both countries incorrectly. He finally launched an apology that was not riddled with errors:

Thirdly, he should have apologized to the Democrats for creating a moment where things actually did fall apart without Donald Trump, who was formerly associated with the pageant. 

According to the official Miss Universe Snapchat though, Harvey may not be to blame. He says the teleprompter said “Miss Universe- Colombia” but the video was quickly removed. 


Whatever really happened, this incident is no reason not to go out and celebrate Cleveland’s “Steve Harvey Day” on Jan. 17, as proclaimed by Mayor Frank Jackson last year. Harvey graduated from Glenville High School in 1974, becoming a stand-up comedian in 1985. Harvey grew up on E. 112th Street which has been rededicated in his honor. 

This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2015.

Nicole Schneider is a college sophomore at Ohio University studying Journalism and Political Science Pre-Law. Along with interning for Cleveland Scene Magazine, Nicole works as a reporter for WOUB Digital and WOUB’s News Watch in Athens, Ohio, as well as a contributor and vlogger for Unwritten. Nicole enjoys binge-watching Gossip Girl, participating in her sorority Pi Beta Phi, and making terrible corny jokes.

2 replies on “Cleveland Native Steve Harvey Takes the Crown for 2015’s Biggest TV Mistake”

  1. No truth to the growing online rumor that – on November 7, 2000 – Steve Harvey confidently announced to Al Gore that he easily won the contest in Florida and will be the next president.

  2. Kudos to S.H.
    He stood up and admitted his mistake and properly apologized.
    Showing young people how to properly handle the situation when you make a mistake by
    owning up to it.

    Pretty Good Role Model

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