Steve Harvey wants closure on his infamous Miss Universe gaffe.
The TV host and comedian, who earned the ire of pageant fans worldwide last month when he initially crowned the wrong winner of the prestigious pageant, has repeatedly apologized for the incident.
But in a two-part special called “Miss Universe: The Truth” for his talk show “Steve Harvey”, which will air Monday and Tuesday (Tuesday and Wednesday, Manila time), Harvey said he still wanted to personally apologize to both Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines and Miss Universe 2015 1st runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez of Colombia to finally put closure on the issue.
“This has caused a lot of sleepless nights for me. I didn’t do any interviews until I could talk to the two people who were affected the most, Pia and Ariadna. No matter how tough it was for me, I can’t imagine how it was for these two women. This finally gives me a chance to have a moment of closure,” Harvey said in a statement.
The 58-year-old host of the popular game show “Family Feud” has uploaded several promo clips of the TV special to his own YouTube channel, including one showing Wurtzbach and Gutierrez being interviewed backstage on their way to their respective one-on-one interviews with Harvey.
As seen in the clip above, both women look upbeat and excited about their appearance on the show, although Miss Colombia still gave some pointed answers. Asked if they thought if the text on Harvey’s card showing the winners was too small, Gutierrez exclaimed, “Of course not” while Wurtzbach conceded, “Yes, it was kinda small.”
Gutierrez’s candid reply to the question about the most embarrassing thing she’s done onstage, “To see my crown taken away from me, it was really embarrassing.”
Asked if she was more nervous or excited to meet Steve Harvey again? The Latina beauty said, “I think he’s more nervous than me but I’m excited to do that.” As for forgiving Steve Harvey, the replies of the two women were not shown as the clip was cut short.
In another clip of Part 1 of the TV special where he interviewed Wurtzbach (the interview with Gutierrez was in Part 2 so the two were not in show together), Harvey asked about that awkward moment when she had to stand on the stage side by side with Miss Colombia after learning she was the real winner of the Miss Universe crown.
“I tried to keep a safe distance as not to disrespect her,” Wurtzbach replied as the audience roared with laughter.
“I mean no, because I didn’t want her to feel bad. I was being sensitive to her feelings. So when I was standing there, I was very happy that I won, I was excited but I was also thinking about her. I couldn’t help but think how tough this must be for her,” she further explained.
That’s when Harvey admitted the need to talk to both women as he said he felt horrible for both of them.
“There’s so much that I want to say but I’m truly sorry, you know, really. I wish we all could have gotten it right that night. I want you to know that,” Harvey added.
“Don’t beat yourself up for this anymore. Come on, let’s move forward, let’s just be happy,” the sympathetic Miss Universe told him in a separate clip.
In another emotional clip, Harvey admitted how he felt terrible not just for himself but for the two ladies, especially Miss Colombia. He also revealed receiving death threats in the fallout of the incident and how his wife Marjorie stood by him and supported him throughout the whole ordeal.
“But as difficult as it was for me, I didn’t want to do interviews because I wanted to talk to the two women first,” Harvey told his audience.
Harvey actually apologized personally to Wurtzbach backstage moments after the pageant but had yet to personally communicate with Gutierrez until the making of the TV special.
While Harvey has not yet uploaded clips of his personal interview with Miss Colombia, gossip news site TMZ has reported that he sobbed and sobbed as he begged for forgiveness.
But based on several photos of Harvey’s session that had already leaked online, as well as promo photos of the two shown smiling together, it looks like all was well that ended well for Harvey and Gutierrez. (E. Sallan, interaksyon)
