Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 23) — Miss Universe El Salvador apologized on Thursday for the graphics mix-up in the announcement of the Top 5 candidates during the coronation night of the pageant on Sunday (Philippine time).
“[W]e heard the same results live at the same time that you all did, no special access over here! We’re sorry to both finalists,” it added.
Many pageant fans, especially Filipinos, expressed disappointment at the error. One social media user called the attention of Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere, who was a judge during the coronation, on the mistake.
“She didn’t do any mistakes, so the Philippines should be very proud of her. She is beautiful, kind, classy … the level was really high this year. When you see the girls who didn’t make it to the Top 5, there is a lot of amazing contestants … I know that Michelle is very sweet and please give her a lot of love because she deserves it,” she added.
“Our mistake! In the rush to get our posts up during Saturday’s live broadcast, we accidentally mixed up the names of two finalists,” Miss Universe El Salvador said in a social media post.
During the coronation, netizens were quick to catch the now deleted post of the Miss Universe El Salvador account which included Philippine bet Michelle Dee in the Top 5. It was immediately replaced by a graphics card showing Thailand’s Anntonia Porsild, who won first runner-up, on the list.
Miss Universe El Salvador said “this was a simple error of moving too fast.”
Mittenaere said she had no idea about the issue, and revealed that Dee was one of her Top 5 choices.
“As judges, everything was fair and legal. But to be honest Michelle was in my Top 5. I loved her style in evening gown and I love her style since I saw her in the Philippines almost 3 years ago,” Mittenaere said.
