‘Every judge voted for Pia’

MANILA, Philippines – Amid speculation about the circumstances behind the announcement of the wrong winner, one of the judges in the Miss Universe 2015 pageant revealed that the panel unanimously voted for Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach to win the coveted crown.

“I went with my gut and voted for Miss Philippines. And actually, I found out afterwards it was unanimous. Every single judge on that panel, all four of us, voted for Miss Philippines to be number 1,” Miss Universe 2015 judge and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton said on his website.

Hilton told his co-host Chris Booker that all the four judges voted for Wurtzbach to be the Miss Universe and that she deserved to win.

The other in-person judges were former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, “Scream Queens” star Niecy Nash and former athlete and “Dancing With The Stars” champion Emmitt Smith.

The global audience and the 77 other candidates were also allowed to choose their bets during the competition.

Hilton said he and other judges were surprised why show host Steve Harvey announced Miss Colombia as the winner, without even mentioning the Philippines.

Harvey declared Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo as the winner, but later went back on stage to correct his mistake and declared Miss Philippines is actually this year’s winner.

Hilton stressed Wurtzbach deserved to win and that she is “perfect for being a Miss Universe.”

Hilton said he was impressed by the performance of the 26-year-old stunner during the competition and during the question and answer portion.

“Miss Philippines surprised me… she was fierce and fabulous… she has a real beauty, grace and elegance…” Hilton said.

Hilton also described the difference between the two girls.

“Here’s the difference between Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines: Miss Philippines came to win and Miss Colombia came to lose. Colombia came there as if she had already won; I think she truly believed that she was going to win. Philippines came with something to prove,” he said.

“Miss Colombia was the most beautiful contestant, but I don’t think she deserves to win the title, and she didn’t win the title for a variety of reasons,” Hilton added.

Meanwhile, Miss Australia Monika Radulovic, who bagged fourth in the competition, said she and other contestants already knew that Wutzbach was the winner even before Harvey apologized for his blunder.

Radulovic said the teleprompter showed it was Miss Philippines who won the pageant, not Miss Colombia.

“I still really can’t believe it happened. The girls, the rest of us – the 77 contestants – were on the side of the stage and we actually saw the teleprompter. It said ‘Philippines, please take your first walk as Miss Universe’ after Colombia was crowned,” Radulovic said in an interview with Australian television show Sunrise.

Radulovic also expressed her sympathy for the unfortunate blunder.

“My heart goes out to both girls. For Colombia...that feeling of winning. You could see she was crying tears of joy and then getting that taken away. At the same time, for the Philippines because she didn’t really have that amazing victory,” she said.

On the other hand, Miss Germany Sarah-Lorraine Riek came under fire on social media after a video of her went viral criticizing the results of the pageant. – With Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero