Miss Universe Winner Gaffe: Donald Trump Says Mistake Would Never Have Happened When He Ran Pageant

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came out on top after Sunday night’s messy Miss Universe pageant even though he was nowhere near the show. When the pageant’s host, comedian Steve Harvey, accidentally crowned the wrong woman Miss Universe, the internet exploded -- and some fans predictably pointed to Trump’s absence as the source of the problem.

Trump, who has been the front-runner in the Republican presidential primary for months despite his increasingly controversial comments, sold the Miss Universe Organization to WME/IMG in September. That sale followed a decision from NBC and Univision not to air the Miss USA pageant over the summer in protest of Trump’s remarks about Mexican immigrants when he announced his presidential bid.

Still, despite selling the organization, Trump has shown no bitterness for Miss Universe. Just hours before the Miss Universe pageant began Sunday, Trump had a positive take on the new owners.

He even told viewers to watch the show as the final three contestants took the stage.

But when the coronation fiasco went down, Trump seemed gleeful at the idea the show could not go on (successfully) without him in charge. Harvey not only announced that Miss Colombia had won the pageant when, in reality, Miss Philippines was the winner, but he also misspelled both countries’ names in an initial apology on Twitter.

As Trump continued to comment on Miss Universe, his lawsuit against Univision over the pageant organization also marches on, the Washington Post reported. He filed in November an amended complaint seeking $500 million for the media company’s decision to cancel its involvement with Miss Universe and for alleged defamation and “attempt to suppress Mr. Trump’s First Amendment rights.” But Univision disagrees, and has filed a motion for dismissal.

“Trump’s invective — and Miss Universe’s silence in the face of it — rendered the pageants toxic to Univision’s viewership, which obliterated the central goal of the licensing deal and the very reason Univision was carrying the programs,” it responded. “Trump cannot now stick Univision with the bill.”