PHOTOSMiss South Africa Wins Miss Universe After Very Scary Incident!
Nov. 27 2017, Updated 8:21 p.m. ET
Talk about a dramatic finish! Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters from South Africa was crowned Miss Universe last night, as she beat women from over 90 countries for the big crown. Her road to victory was paved with a major traumatic experience however, as the gorgeous beauty queen was held at gunpoint shortly after she originally won her nation’s title a couple of months back! Click-through for all the details.
The 2017 Miss Universe competition, which was held at The Planet Hollywood casino-resort on the Las Vegas strip, was its biggest ever with women competing from 92 countries!
Demi-Leigh’s path to the crown was met with an unfortunate circumstance in her home country of South Africa, when three carjackers held her at gunpoint as she was driving through Johannesburg a month after winning the nation’s title in June.
Luckily, she managed to exit the vehicle and flee as a good samaritan saw her and drove her to safety. Demi-Leigh could’ve held her own, perhaps, as she teaches self-defense courses for women in her home country. Not only that, but she is also very intelligent as she holds a degree in business management. Triple threat indeed!
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During the Q&A portion of the competition, Demi-Leigh focused her answer on issues for women in the workplace, saying "In some places, women get paid 75% of what men earn for doing the same job, working the same hours — and I do not believe that this is right. I think we should have equal work for equal pay for women all over the world.”
She had some stiff competitors throughout, including the first ever representatives from Cambodia, Laos and Nepal. She ultimately bested runner up Miss Colombia Laura Gonzalez and second runner up Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett.
Steve Harvey, who had a memorable flub while hosting the 2015 Miss Universe pageant, returned to host again and poked fun at his famous mixup, saying that he is "grateful for the Oscars” as they had their own blunder this past year with the Best Picture mishap between Moonlight and La La Land.
What are your thoughts on Miss South Africa’s dramatic win? Sound off in the comments!
