Miss Universe El Salvador has issued an apology, admitting there had been a mistake in their announcement of the Top 5 candidates during the Miss Universe 2023 coronation night last Sunday.
A screenshot of Miss Universe Salvador’s deleted social media graphic, which quickly circulated online, showed Philippine bet Michelle Dee among the Top 5 finalists of this year’s pageant held in the Latin American country.
The said graphics was abruptly changed to one that showed Thailand’s Anntonia Porsild in the Top 5, just as how it was announced during the live broadcast.
A mix-up from MU in El Salvador IG page was posted seeing MMD in the Top 5 instead of Thailand. This was deleted now and replaced with a new one.
— Pia Wurtzbach Universe (@PiaWurtzbachUni) November 19, 2023
What is this behaviorrr??? ?#MissUniverse2023 #MichelleDee #Philippines #ForDEEUniverse #MissUniverse #Filipinas #DEE5TINY pic.twitter.com/vjMWP7S3I9
This did not sit well with pageant fans, sparking controversy on social media, with some alleging the pageant was rigged.
Miss Universe El Salvador eventually released a statement saying the mix-up was simply an “error of moving too fast”.
“Our mistake! In the rush to get our posts up during Saturday’s live broadcast, we accidentally mixed up the names of two finalists,” wrote Miss Universe El Salvador in their post.
“This was a simple error of moving too fast – we heard the same results live at the same time that you all did, no special access over here! We’re sorry to both finalists,” they added.
Dee finished her Miss Universe journey in the Top 10 while Porsild was placed first runner-up.
Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios, meanwhile, was crowned the winner, a first for her country.
