Steve Harvey. Image from his official Instagram account
The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has disclosed that American TV host Steve Harvey is no longer returning to host the latest edition of its 2022 pageant, and a female host is set to take his place.
In an exclusive report by Variety, MUO CEO Amy Emmerich confirmed that the new host will be announced in the coming weeks.
“My goal was really to make sure we led with a female lens this next go-around,” Emmerich said in the report. “We should hopefully have that to talk about soon… it was a rare opportunity to be able to kind of restart in a whole new place.”
Apart from having a new host, the 71st Miss Universe competition moved to a new home in streaming platform The Roku Channel after signing a one-year deal. The MUO also clarified that the Spanish broadcast of the pageant will still air in Telemundo.
“Now that we have Roku, what exclusively can we do for them during this commercial space that the audience can feel like they’re seeing more of the inside, behind the scenes,” Emmerich said.
Emmerich, who joined the MUO in January 2022, added that she has been “looking at ways to reform and refresh the organization.”
These changes came after the organization was acquired by Thai-owned conglomerate JKN Global Group in October 2022. The pageant was previously owned by IMG.
Harvey was the host of the Miss Universe pageant for five years as part of its deal with FOX. He is notable for the viral debacle in which he accidentally announced the name of Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez as Miss Universe in 2015, even though it was Philippines’ Pia Wurtzbach who won the title.
FILE PHOTO Miss Philippines 2015, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (L), and Miss Colombia 2015, Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo, hold hands as they wait for the judges’ final decision in the 2015 Miss Universe Pageant at The Axis at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wurtzbach was named the new Miss Universe after host Steve Harvey mistakenly named Gutierrez Arevalo the winner. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP)
The 71st Miss Universe pageant is set to be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, U.S. on January 14, 2023.
Eighty-six contestants will be competing for the title, including the Philippines’ bet Celeste Cortesi. EDV