Miss France Iris Mittenaere was hailed the 65th Miss Universe on Monday. She is currently pursuing a degree in dental surgery and hopes to utilise her reign to advocate for dental and oral hygiene.
During the final question and answer segment, the Miss Universe 2016 Top 3 finalists were asked the same question. The last three ladies standing, Mittenaere, Miss Haiti Raquel Pelissier (first runner-up) and Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar (second runner-up) were asked: “Name something over the course of your life that you failed at, and tell us what you learned from that experience.”
The Miss Universe winner delivered her answer with the help of an interpreter. “I failed several times in my life. So I thought that I failed the first time that I went out on a casting because my name wasn’t on the list. And the very next day, I found that I was in a new book. So I think that when you fail, you have to be elevated, and that you have to try again, and keep going,” she said.
She went on by saying that if she does not become Miss Universe, she will still have the great honour of being part of the top three. “So I think if I have failed before, but for me this is a great first opportunity,” she concluded.
The Parisian native has also commended her home country’s open borders and refugee population. She confidently shared that in France, they want to have the most globalisation possible. “We want to have the biggest exchange of people that we can,” she told the judges during Monday’s show.
Twitter users have reacted about how Mittenaere’s answer was translated by her interpreter, saying it is not accurate. A Twitter user even provided his own interpretation.
During the Miss Universe 2016 winner’s press conference, Mittenaere has clarified her answer using the English language. “When I was in my first year of medicine, the first time [I took the test], I didn’t [pass] my first year, and I cried a lot, and… I have now to do it again… After I saw I was not on the list, I bought another book for medicine. And immediately – only days [after] – I studied, and they called me one week after this and they said, ‘There is a mistake. Actually you have your first year of medicine. This is not a joke. And you succeeded.’ And I was so proud. This is the thing that I am most proud of in my life,” she said.
Apart from Mittenaere’s answer, which has apparently won the hearts of the judges, another remarkable comment during the 65th Miss Universe pageant was Miss Kenya Mary Esther Were’s remarks on US President Donald Trump.
Miss Kenya has acknowledged that so many people are against Trump. But she said she feels that when he took office, he was able to “unify the entire nation.”
Miss Colombia Andrea Tovar, on the other hand, has joked with host Steve Harley about announcing the wrong winner during the Miss Universe 2015. “A lot of people hate you, but you know I love you,” Tovar said. “Was that a death threat?,” Harvey replied.
Australia’s Miss Universe contestant Caris Tiivel has not made it in Miss Universe 2016 Top 13. Earlier today, she took to Instagram to share that the pageant has been the best experience of her life.