Naglabas ng public apology si Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu mula sa India matapos ang pagkakamali ng pagsambit sa pangalan ng bansa ni Miss Universe Kyrgyztan Altynai Botoyarova, sa kaniyang co-hosting noong preliminary competition, kasama si Miss Universe Organization TV producer at writer Nick Teplitz.
Nasambit ni Sandhu ang "Kazakhstan" sa halip na "Kyrgyzstan" habang naglalakad ang kandidata sa runway suot ang white swan-inspired national costume.
"During the preliminary event this week in New Orleans, I failed to properly say Kyrgyzstan. I am deeply sorry for this mistake," saad ni Miss Universe 2021 sa kaniyang Instagram story. Aniya, wala umano siyang intensiyong saktan ang damdamin ng mga taga-Kyrgyztan o mga tagasuporta ni Botoyarova.
Ngayong araw ng Linggo, Enero 15, naglabas na rin ng public apology ang pamunuan ng Miss Universe, sa pamamagitan ng CEO nitong si Amy Emmerich.
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"We will do better next time," saad ni Emmerich.
Tinanggap naman ng kandidata ang apology.
"Thank you for your sincere apologies, I truly appreciate it. I am Miss Kyrgyzstan 2021 and I am proudly representing my country Kyrgyzstan here. I want to express my deep gratitude to the Miss Universe Organization for taking this issue seriously. You proved one more time that you are the largest and best competition. Thank you," aniya na salin sa wikang Ingles.
Makikita rin ang kanilang public apology sa kanilang opisyal na Instagram page.
"Miss Universe prides itself in being an organization that gives women a platform to expose their culture to the world. In this spirit, our team is offering an apology to Kyrgyzstan for failing to correctly say the country’s name during the recent Preliminary event in New Orleans. Our team promises to do better," ayon sa caption.
