The issue between Pia Wurtzbach and Ariadna Gutierrez resurfaced online almost five years after the Miss Universe pageant where the former was proclaimed winner in an awkward manner.
In 2015, Miss Universe host Steve Harvey made a mistake when he announced Gutierrez as the winner and then clarified four minutes after that it was Wurtzbach who won the crown.
This so-called “crowning moment” scene between the two beauty pageant contenders became an internet meme across social media platforms and is still being referenced until the present.
Five years after, in an interview with Miss Colombia 2017 Laura Barjum and pageant enthusiast YouTube Hector Cermeno, Gutierrez was asked about her thoughts on Wurtzbach during the prestigious competition.
The video was also posted on Cermeno’s Instagram page on October 3.
Based on the translation uploaded by local pageant website Pageanthology 101, Gutierrez likened Wurtzbach to a “ghost” and did not consider her a competitor.
“I saw Pia only twice in the group. Once I saw her once in the dining room and again during a rehearsal… But she was a like a ghost-person…Kinda you see her once and you never see her again. Something sooo strange! Nobody would see her,” she said.
“I was among the Latino girls and we were always besides the Asians but even among the Asian girls you couldn’t see her. She was very solitary. I did not notice her and when I did, I did not think of her as my competition. That is the truth,” she added.
Gutierrez’s remarks were eventually made into social cards, and then shared among local pageant and entertainment pages on Facebook.
Miss Universe-Bulgaria came to the defense
In a comment placed under Entertainment News Portal’s report about it, fellow candidate Miss Universe-Bulgaria Radostina or Radost Todorova claimed that Gutierrez and her friends were belittling other candidates that time, including Wurtzbach.
Entertainment News Portal later shared a social card of Todorova’s comment on October 5.
“Of course you didn’t see her! I remember you were always laughing at us, at our clothes and jewelries, at our walk and talks. You were only with the other Latinas looking down on us! I stand behind my words and that’s why we were all so happy Pia won!” she was quoted as saying.
Award! Miss Universe Bulgaria 2015, Radost Todorova, commenting on the response of Miss Universe 2015 1st Runner-up, from Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez. She is really firm on her comment https://bit.ly/2Svkout
Posted by Entertainment News Portal on Monday, October 5, 2020
In a separate post on Facebook, Todorova clarified that her response was not meant to offend anyone.
“I don’t mean to offend anyone. But after 5 years still commenting on the winner this way…as if she was nobody? I mean to be beautiful like Pia is something you don’t do at the esthetician’s cabinet, it’s something you accomplish at school and at your community!” she said.
I don’t mean to offend anyone. But after 5 years still commenting on the winner this way… as if she was nobody?! I…
Posted by Radost Todorova on Tuesday, October 6, 2020
She further lauded Wurtzbach for her ability to embrace beauty and make people around her feel good about themselves during the competition.
“I remember all of the beautiful women at this pageant! I remember them all because they were speaking, smiling and helping each other feel good about themselves! We were there to embrace beauty! And it has nothing to do with how you look but how you make people feel around you! That’s the beauty of being a queen! And Pia does it all. Period,” Todorova said.
Although Todorova’s comment seemed to have been deleted, some social users managed to take screenshots of it and share it on Facebook and Twitter as they praised the Bulgarian beauty queen for her statement.
One Twitter user even recalled the viral meme featuring Todorova in 2015 where she was seen gesturing Wurtzbach to get her crown.
Miss Universe-Bulgaria defending Miss Universe Pia!
Super duper suporta . Thank you. pic.twitter.com/TlorrMZa77
— shark‼️ (@shark_cag) October 5, 2020
