Four years after his infamousMiss Universemix-up,Steve Harveycame under fire once again while hosting the pageant, this time over a series of jokes he made about the country of Colombia.
Harvey first made the “cartel” comment during his opening monologue, and brought it up again while speaking in the first round with Miss Colombia Gabriela Tafur. While telling Tafur that she had made it into the Top 20, Harvey addressed the2015 incident, in which he mistakenly declared2015’s Miss Colombiaas the pageant’s winnerinstead of Miss Philippines.
After Tafur told Harvey, “I forgive you,” the host, 62, tried to joke that “the cartel” had not.
“You forgive me. Yeah, they haven’t, not the cartel,” Harvey replied, gesturing out to the crowd. “They’re not handling it the same way.”
Paras Griffin/Getty
The comment promptly sparked backlash on social media, with many taking issue with Harvey’s generalization of the country’s population.
“Absolutely disrespectful the joke of the ‘cartels,” one social media user wrote onTwitter. “We are a great country full of good people and we don’t deserve that image anymore. Surprising how ignorant a host can be, recommend you to open a book once in a while.”
“It’s not funny, it’s offensive,”addedanother. “Be respectful and Stop joking about it!!! Stop the ignorance!!!”
“Steve Harvey talking about Colombia’s cartels is not funny,” reporter Victoria Leandrawrote.
Others also called for Harvey to step down as host of the pageant.
“The ‘joke’ that Steve Harvey said two times about the colombian cartel, is disrespectful and xenophobic. He shouldn’t be presenter never again,” one Twitter userwrote, adding that Harvey should also have to apologize for his words.
Minnesota Rep. Jon Koznick alsoweighed in, writing, “Not cool @MissUniverse /Steve Harvey. Just FYI it’s rude to make jokes about any countries past & serious issues like that. Jeez Harvey. Maybe time for a new host.”
RELATED VIDEO: Steve Harvey Miss Colombia Says Learn How to Read Cards
Reps for Harvey and Miss Universe did not immediately return PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Harvey also drew heat for anapparent teleprompter mix-up, in which he referred to Miss Malaysia as Miss Philippines.
While announcing the National Costume Contest winner, Harvey said, “Here’s a look at the winner, Philippines.”
He was standing next to Miss Malaysia Shweta Sekhon, who grabbed the mic from Harvey and said, “It’s not Philippines, it’s Malaysia.”
“Okay, well, let me explain something to you. I just read that in the teleprompter. Y’all got to quit doing this to me,” Harvey replied, addressing the show’s producers. “I can read, they said now, they’re trying to fix it now. See, this what they did to me back in 2015. Played me short like that. This is Malaysia. I really love this national costume of Malaysia. This is crazy.”
As it turns out, Harvey did announce the correct winner after all.
source: people.com
