In the lead-up to the announcements of the 72nd Miss Universe in El Salvador last Sunday, November 19, 2023, the hosting country unfortunately made a blunder that caused a stir not only on social media but also among some of its contestants.
Miss Universe El Salvador shared a graphic indicating the finalists, mistakenly including Miss Universe Philippines candidate Michelle Dee, who was not among the finalists. The post and story, originally posted on Sunday, have now been taken down. It was promptly deleted and replaced by a graphic featuring Thailand’s Antonia Porsild in the Top 5 roster. However, the post had already been screenshot and spread through social media.
In their post on their Instagram on Thursday, November 23rd, 2023, they apologized for the mistake and that the reason they made the mistake was because they ‘were in such a hurry to get the results out that they accidentally mixed up the two finalists, and there were no special changes in the outcome.’
Many fans and candidate supporters were outraged at the mistake and asked Miss Universe El Salvador to explain the immediately deleted post and blunder for an institution as established as Miss Universe. One of the more apparent people to critique Miss Universe El Salvador is Michelle Dee herself.
In a message sent by Dee on her broadcast channel, she states that she’s the type of person ‘that believes everything happens for a reason, even their ‘mistaken post’ happened for a reason.’ And that the blunder was a matter of viewing as a blessing or a lesson.
She goes on by saying that a prestigious pageant like the Miss Universe and especially their host country’s official accounts should be ‘more cautious and respectful’ to delegates and their supporters as their emotional investment are important in the success of the pageant and their delegates.
“Ultimately my goal was to make my country proud and I believe I achieved that with or without the crown. There should be no room for error, but the reality is that we live in an imperfect world.”
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