Miss Philippines wins Miss Universe crown

SCREEN CAPTURE

Catriona Gray was dubbed the Miss Universe Monday.

MISS PHILIPPINES, Catriona Gray, was named Miss Universe 2018 on Monday in Bangkok, besting contestants from 93 other countries and delighting her home nation.

Gray and first runner-up Tamaryn Green of South Africa held hands as they awaited Stevve Harvey's announcement of the winner. Lo and behold, Harvey got it right!

The last time Miss Philippines won the contest in 2015, he announced the wrong woman.

"My heart is filled with so much gratitude," Gray said. "There were moments of doubt where I felt overwhelmed and I felt the pressure."

Gray, 24,  impressed the judges with her response to the question: "What is the most important lesson you've learned in your life, and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?" She responded:

“I work a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila and the life there is… it’s poor and very sad,” said Gray during the question and answer session. “And I’ve always taught myself to look for the beauty of it, to look for beauty in the faces of the children and to be grateful. And I would bring this aspect as a Miss Universe, to see situations with a silver lining, and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson. If I could teach also people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children would have a smile on their faces. Thank you.”

Gray wore a sparkling red dress she said was inspired by a volcano in the Philippines as she was handed the crown to the delight of a roaring crowd in Bangkok.

Gray's father is Australian, and she was born and grew up in Cairns, Australia. She moved to the Philippines at age 18 to pursue a modeling career.

Catriona went to school at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She received a degree in Music Theory and is also a singer.

In an Instagram post, 2015's Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach wrote a message to her fellow Filipina beauty queen for making the Philippines proud this year. Catriona is the fourth Filipina to be hailed as Miss Universe.

She said, "This girl is on fire! You started strong and captured our hearts with your grace, commitment and fearlessness! And that walk...how could anyone forget that walk? Now, you've conquered the Universe!"

Ahh, the walk! It got the attention of supermodel Tyra Banks, who retweeted the clip and added some America’s Next Top Model–esque commentary. “Pinoy power to the max!” tweeted Banks. “You did it! And that walk and confidence? I mean ... next-level fierce!”

The Philippines previously won Miss Universe titles in 2015, 1973 and 1969. Highlights of her performance is below:

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Steve Harvey mocks Asian men, but nobody's laughing

Steve Harvey laughs at his own joke making fun of Asian men.

STEVE HARVEY, your racism is showing.

The popular television host made fun of Asian men on the Steve Harvey Show last Friday, reinforcing the negative stereotype that portrays Asian males as unattractive.

Being an Asian man, this hit close to home because I've had to live with this belief all my life.

Harvey was mocking self-help books when he came across a 2002 title How to Date A White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men. Instead of making fun of the questionable book's content, he targeted Asian men. He found it laughable that a white woman could ever find Asian men attractive.

"That's one page, too!" he laughed at his own joke. "Excuse me, do you like Asian men? No. Thank you."

He was on a roll and he couldn't stop, saying that black women couldn't possibly be attracted to Asian men, either.  How to Date a Black Woman: A Practical Guide to Asian Men, he says. "Same thing. You like Asian men? I don't even like Chinese food. It don't stay with you no time ... I don't eat what I can't pronounce."

Harvey - in the Chris Rock mode - apparently feels it is OK to make Asians the butt of racist jokes even as they talk about increasing diversity in the entertainment industry. His segment drew angry reactions on social media.

“It’s unfortunate when those with a public platform like Steve Harvey use that platform to mock and ridicule entire groups of people and in this particular case, to perpetuate negative and harmful racial stereotypes about Asian/Americans,” Karin Wang, V.P. of Programs and Communications at Asian Americans Advancing Justice, told Page Six. “We are disappointed in Steve Harvey.”

Several media outlets unsuccessfully tried to get a response from Harvey's spokesperson.

Harvey is scheduled to host the Miss Universe pageant on January 30 in the Philippines, home of the current Miss Universe, Pia Wurtzbach. 

RELATED: Harvey's gaff mars new Miss Universe from the Philippines

While in the Philippines, someone should warn Harvey that Philippines President Rod Duterte, whom some call the Trump of the Philippines, is sensitive to what he perceives as slights or insults. He called President Barack Obama a "son of a whore," when Obama questioned the extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers, a practice endorsed and encouraged by Duterte.