On Sunday’s 70th Miss Universe pageant, longtime host Steve Harvey made yet another mistake amid the night’s most anxious moment.
“Congratulations, Portugal,” Harvey said to the two remaining finalists — from Paraguay and India — after revealing Miss South Africa as the second runner-up. That’s when the host realized he’d made a mistake.
“They wrote Portugal on the damn sign, trying to play me — they’re trying to get me again. But I’m not going for it this year,” Harvey said. “Congratulations, Paraguay. They had Portugal on the damn sign. I looked dead at it. Y’all saw it. Don’t try to blame this on me this year.”
Now, we don’t know if Harvey was referring to 2015 mishap when he introduced the first runner-up Miss Colombia as the winner, instead of Miss Philippines. Or, the 2019 mishap when he referenced Miss Philippines in a clip instead of Miss Malaysia.
Despite this, the event went on, and Harvey named Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu as Miss Universe 2021.
Sandhu, 21, defeated 79 other contenders, including Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, who finished second and third respectively.
It was a historical night for India, as they won the Miss Universe title for the first time in 21 years. It was even more significant due to the fact that it was the first time a delegate from the United Arab Emirates had ever competed, as well as the first time Miss Universe Morocco had attended the contest in more than four decades.
