Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach from the Philippines has expressed kind words for Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez.
Wurtzbach commended the runner-up on Instagram on Friday, nearly a week after Miss Universe host Steve Harvey’s on-air mistake in naming Miss Colombia the winner of the coveted crown, when Miss Philippines was the victor.
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“To Ariadna, you are an amazing woman and we are now bonded together forever by a unique experience,” the Filipina-German actress wrote, reports people.com.
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“In the last three weeks we were together, I saw how strong and beautiful you are inside and out. You represented your country with honour and I know how proud everyone must be of you. Fate has a plan for you, and I’m excited to see what’s ahead.”
Wow. Words can’t describe how grateful I am for this. It was quite a journey getting here with 3 attempts at winning Miss Philippines. Now, I finally got the best Christmas gift ever – and not just for me, for my country. I’d like to say thank you to everyone who believed in my potential and those who supported me from the beginning. To everyone who voted for me, especially to my fellow countrymen, thank you. Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. To Ariadna, you are an amazing woman and we are now bonded together forever by a unique experience. In the last 3 weeks we were together, I saw how strong and beautiful you are inside and out. You represented your country with honor and I know how proud everyone must be of you. Fate has a plan for you, and I’m excited to see what’s ahead. And to all the fans who are still fighting about this…Please let’s all stop now. The Miss Universe Organization is about uniting empowered women from all over the world. Arguing and sending hateful messages to each other defeats the whole purpose. You believe in the message of Miss Universe and so do I. Again, thank you for the love. I’m excited to begin my duties as Miss Universe and I wish everyone, all the contestants and all the supporters a great holiday with their loved ones. Happy Holidays and let’s look forward to a great start to the new year! # #MissUniverse – Pia
A photo posted by Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (@missuniverse) on Dec 24, 2015 at 1:32pm PST
And the Miss Universe title holder had a few words to say to those enraged by the pageant blunder. “To all the fans who are still fighting about this… Please let’s all stop now,” Wurtzbach said in an attempt to move past the controversy.
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She added, “The Miss Universe Organization is about uniting empowered women from all over the world. Arguing and sending hateful messages to each other defeats the whole purpose.” Gutiérrez is focusing on the positive as well.
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The Colombian TV host and fashion model shared a post on her Instagram writing, “Your destiny is written for you. And my destiny was this. I was able to bring happiness to my country after becoming Miss Universe for only a couple of minutes.”
Harvey has also been a good sport about his talked-about gaffe. After apologizing to both ladies, the comedian poked fun at himself with a new mix-up, switching up his Christmas greeting with “Merry Easter”.
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