Why Did Steve Harvey Lose His Miss Universe Pageant Hosting Gig?

Steve Harvey might have had some of the greatest television moments, but he's also had some of the worst. In 2015, ET reported that a source revealed the talk show host had signed a three to seven-year contract with the Miss Universe organization. However, his tenure only lasted five years. Thanks to his eventful time as host, it's natural to wonder what exactly led to the end of this gig.

After Harvey's contract was terminated, the show's organizers gave a reason that was totally unrelated to the blunders he made during his five years on screen. In a December 2022 interview with Variety, Miss Universe CEO Amy Emmerich shared that the organization was switching to a female host for the next pageant. "My goal was really to make sure we led with a female lens this next go-around," she told the outlet. 

The publication also explained that Harvey's contract was thanks to Miss Universe's previous affiliation with Fox. The pageant show had signed a new deal with Roku Channel, ending their contract with Fox, and, ultimately, Harvey. But thanks to his rocky history while on the show, it's impossible to forget his time as host.

At the start of his contract, Steve Harvey made one of the biggest on-screen goofs in history by calling out the wrong winner. During the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, he infamously called out Miss Colombia and didn't notice the error until she had been crowned and was waving to fans. The world watched as the crown was taken off Miss Colombia and given to Miss Philippines. Harvey later explained that the fault wasn't his, but the damage was done, and the criticism was immense. He later referred to the time as the "worst week of his life" (via USA Today).

The aftermath of Steve Harvey's Miss Universe mix-up was intense, even earning him enemies such as Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines. The year after his blunder, Duterte publicly stated that he wanted Harvey booted out. Ultimately, the host survived the ax, but there were more blunders to come.

In 2019, after he announced Miss Colombia as part of the last 20 contestants, the beauty queen was wary and asked him if he was certain her name was on the list. The host clarified that he hadn't made a mistake but controversially joked that the cartel was yet to forgive him.

After Steve Harvey's controversial and poorly received joke, he crowned Miss Philippines the Winner of the Miss Universe Costume Contest. However, an internal error resulted in Miss Malaysia being on stage. Naturally, people assumed the error was from Harvey, but the host quickly defended himself. "I just read that in a teleprompter. Y'all gotta quit doing this to me [...] Now, they're trying to fix it now. See? This is what they did to me back in 2015. Played me short like that" (via The Wrap).

During his last appearance on the Miss Universe stage in December 2021, Harvey made another error while announcing the last two beauty queens, Miss Paraguay and Miss India. The comedian referred to Paraguay's contestant as "Portugal." Like the previous time, Harvey speedily stated that the error wasn't his. "They wrote Portugal on the damn sign, trying to play me — they're trying to get me again. But I'm not going for it this year" (via Yahoo).