Comedian Steve Harvey knows how to make fun of himself despite the devastating mistake he made on the Miss Universe event last week. Following his Miss Universe blunder, Harvey took to social media to greet everyone a “Merry Easter” on Christmas Day.
“Merry Easter, y’all,” Harvey wrote alongside a photo of him standing by a pool while smoking a cigar and holding up a peace sign, in an attempt to poke fun at his humiliating mixup at the pageant. The photo was posted on the comedian’s social media accounts on Friday.
Merry Easter y’all! ??? pic.twitter.com/Z6Xjj5Ehqg
— Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) December 25, 2015
His holiday greeting got over 2.3 million likes and 93 comments as well as more than 200,000 retweets.
Harvey made the mistake of crowning Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as Miss Universe instead of Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. The host came back on stage and immediately took responsibility for the mistake, and announced Miss Philippines as the real winner of the pageant. He then explained that he misread his cue card, much to the surprise of the cheering crowd.
#ICYMI Steve Harvey crowned the wrong winner at #MissUniverse last weekend https://t.co/joHv5qrHQl pic.twitter.com/nIuaKl369G
— Variety (@Variety) December 25, 2015
Not long after the Miss Universe coronation night, Harvey apologized on Twitter addressing “Miss Philippians and Miss Columbia” which he edited afterward.
This is not Steve Harvey’s day. The Philippians and Columbia have not been reached for comment. #MissUniverse2015 pic.twitter.com/KvJ8iJxErS
— Patricia Evangelista (@patevangelista) December 21, 2015
Meanwhile, Harvey reportedly signed a multi-year contract to host the prestigious beauty pageant in the coming years. According to several reports, the deal was signed just before Miss Universe aired. Harvey is said to have been offered to host the pageant for at least three more years.
EXCLUSIVE: Steve Harvey signed a massive multi-year deal to host #MissUniverse. https://t.co/Qjiz7R3GtS pic.twitter.com/rEUZOjfYhP
— EntertainmentTonight (@etnow) December 23, 2015
Many people believe the fiasco was a strategy to gain publicity and boost the dwindling TV ratings of the annual pageant. Others speculate that there was a conspiracy to make Miss Universe and Harvey newsworthy again.
“I generally don’t buy into conspiracy theories, but this is the most attention the Miss Universe pageant has gotten since, well, ever,” newspaper sportswriter Les East stated, hinting the said gaffe could be a major publicity stunt.