Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach opens up on "confusing" win
The new Miss Universe, Pia Wurtzbach, says she's "still in awe of everything."
After an awkward and embarrassing mix-up during the finale of this year's Miss Universe pageant, Miss Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, was (eventually) crowned the winner.
The 26-year-old Wurtzbach spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner backstage after the show, and opened up about the bizarre incident in which Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, was accidentally crowned the winner after host Steve Harvey misread the results card.
"I was confused. I wasn't sure what was going on," said Wurtzbach upon hearing that she was the actual winner. "I didn't expect that to happen at all."
The 26-year-old told ET that she was hesitant to go up when her name was called, fearing that it may have been another mistake. She said she looked to staff and crew off stage, hoping to get a cue or signal to go up, "but even they were confused."
After being crowned the new Miss Universe, Wurtzbach said she didn't feel sure about the win until later.
"I had to ask my [manager] many times like, 'Did I really win? Am I really Miss Universe? Are you going to take the crown from me now?' And they [said], 'No, no, you're really the winner.'"
After everything that happened, Wurtzbach said she couldn't help but think about Miss Colombia when she was de-crowned.
While Wurtzbach wanted to reach out to Gutierrez after the finale, she explained that she wasn't able to so.
"She was crying and then there was a crowd around her, the girls who were comforting her," Wurtzbach recalled. "I was actually very close to her already, but I decided that maybe it was bad timing to do it now -- to apologize to her for what happened. So maybe I'll do that in the future."
To her credit, Gutierrez was exceedingly gracious in defeat. The 21-year-old Colombian beauty addressed the awkward mix-up in a video posted to the Miss Universe Twitter page. "Everything happens for a reason," she said.
Check out the video below for a look at Miss Colombia's classy response to the embarrassing fiasco.