Moments after Steve Harvey crowned the wrong Miss Universe, the Internet wasted no time roasting him with clever memes and gifs of the faux pas.
Though his mis-announcement was cringe-worthy, Harvey took full responsibility for his error. He graciously apologized to Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines, live on the show and on Twitter (albeit grammatically incorrect at first).
I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible.
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) December 21, 2015
Still, racism managed to merge its way into the situation as some Twitter users hurled racial expletives at Harvey. A series of tweets from multiple accounts with mostly Spanish names, called the Family Feud host the n-word and told him to “Go back to Africa stupid monkey.” One user was particularly upset writing, “@IAmSteveHarvey F*cking n*gger! You don’t know how to read! F*cking monkey! F*ck you! Colombia won.”
Alvaro Ortiz Bonell, who has a less than perfect grasp on the English language, added: “hey fucking N*gger are yo high or you are so stupid that even know read a card.”
Harvey did not address the derogatory tweets, but he did add an apology to the viewers. Fans have also shown major support quickly reminding everyone that nobody is perfect, especially on live television.
Secondly, I’d like to apologize to the viewers at that I disappointed as well. Again it was an honest mistake. — Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) December 21, 2015
I don’t want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants. They were all amazing.
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) December 21, 2015
This serves as a much needed reminder that racism lives well beyond U.S. borders.
