Miss Colombia 2015 Ariadna Gutierrez on Pia Wurtzbach: ‘I did not think of her as my competition’
Almost five years after Pia Wurtzbach won 2015 Miss Universe beauty pageant, her first runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez from Colombia spoke in an interview that she did not think of Wurtzbach as her competition.
During the 2015 beauty pageant, held at The AXIS in Las Vegas, host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Gutierrez as the winner only to apologize a couple of minutes later and proclaimed Wurtzbach was the true winner of the evening. Many believe that the 2015 Miss Universe pageant is one of the most controversial in pageant history.
In a video clip posted by Hector Cermeno on Instagram recently, Gutierrez is seen being interviewed in Spanish by Cermeno and Miss Colombia 2017 Laura Barjum.
Pageant website Pageanthology 101 posted on Facebook the translation of the clip.
“Actually, I just saw (notice) her twice during the competition. Once at the dining area and during rehearsals. But a person like a… a ghost! You see her and never again, like the exit signs. Nobody saw her,” Gutierrez said.
She added, “I used to go with the Latinas but we sat with the Asians and I did not notice her. She was very solitary, too. I did not notice her and when I did, I did not think of her as my competition. That is the truth.”
Wurtzbach has yet to comment on Gutierrez's interview.
Meanwhile, Miss Universe Bulgaria 2015 Radost Todorova, whom Filipinos endearingly called “Bestie of the Year” for her supportive gesture to Wurtzbach during the 2015 pageant’s coronation night, expressed her support for Wurtzbach.
In a quote from Entertainment News Portal, Todorova said, “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!”
She added, “I stand behind my words and that’s why we were all so happy Pia won. You need to be beautiful inside and out, not only looking like a Victoria’s Secret model and act like the queen of England!”
In 2015, the morning after the controversial Miss Universe coronation night, one of the judges, Perez Hilton, spoke with ABC News in a live interview and said the judges unanimously voted for Wurtzbach to win.
“My first reaction was, ‘wow, this is rigged,’ because I know how I voted. I know how the judges voted, we all voted for Philippines to win.”
When asked about the possibility of the two women sharing the crown, as the idea buzzed through social media overnight, Hilton had this to say, “I actually believe that Miss Philippines, (whom) we voted for, deserves to win. But losing is the best thing that ever happened to Colombia… Although as a judge, I see her (Gutierrez) posting on Instagram that she is the true winner, there’s a reason, many reasons why she didn’t win. Congratulations to Philippines.”
Banner image photos from www.instagram.com/gutierrezary and www.instagram.com/piawurtzbach
