Denise Garrido was wrongly named Miss Universe Canada after a typo in the tabulation.
Denise Garrido, 26, was initially crowned Miss Universe Canada before she was stripped of her crown just 24 hours later — after a typo was discovered in the results tabulation.
“My reaction was shock and disbelief at the time, and I was so tired from a long day of photos and interviews that I didn’t know if I was hearing that correctly,’’ Garrido told Today.com. “I was a little bit embarrassed, thinking about how I would tell this to family and friends who were celebrating already."
However, Garrido says that “After stepping back and letting it sink in, it’s obvious that it actually was a blessing in disguise. If they had not made a mistake, I would’ve never experienced that moment, something I’ve always dreamed of. I don’t think I would’ve received as much attention if I won as I did with this error.’’
The mistake was discovered Sunday by a third-party audit that the pageant conducts every year.
Pageant director Denis Davila had to break the news to Garrido that a typo that occurred when the judges’ handwritten scores were entered into a computer program skewed the results.
Riza Santos was the actual winner, and has since been given the crown.
“It was highly embarrassing for Denise and the organization," Miss Universe Canada spokesperson Andrew Lopez told Today.com. "But when a mistake is made, you can either cover it up, or admit the mistake, and that’s what (Davila) did. At the end of the day, it’s a human mistake."
Garrido, for her part, is maintaining a positive outlook on the situation.
“I was meant to have that moment,’’ she said. “I was able to live the dream, and now it’s time for Riza to live it for the next year. I’ve received so much sympathy and compassion from people I don’t know, and I’m really touched by it. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, and now it’s onward and upward.”
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