Wrong Winner
After weeks of competition, Kelsey Martinovich achieved her dream of becoming Australia’s Next Top Model.
All smiles, 19-year-old Kelsey thanked host of the
Foxtel TV series, Sarah Murdoch, who had named her winner, and her
fellow contestants for “keeping me on my toes” before concluding her
acceptance speech with the words “Oh, this is crazy”.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have added that bit because
shortly after, it did turn crazy. And it wasn’t because Kanye West
jumped onto the stage, grabbed the mic and said, “No disrespect, but
Beyonce should have won.”
To the shock of thousands watching the live
finale, Sarah Murdoch stopped the proceedings, apologised profusely,
and named 1st Runner Up, Amanda Ware the true winner.
“I don’t know what to say right now. I’m feeling a bit sick about this,” Murdoch told a 2,000-strong live audience.
“I’m so sorry. Oh my God, I don’t know what to
say. This is what happens when you have live TV folks, this is insane,
insane, insane.”
Foxtel blamed the gaffe on miscommunication, and
in some kind of damage control, Kelsey was compensated for the briefest
of reigns. She will receive about $20,000 cash prize and a trip to New
York as consolation, almost matching Miss Ware’s spoils.
While such compensation may suffice in a competition for models, one
doubts if it will work for politicians. Imagine if the Independent
National Electoral Commission’s chairman, Attahiru Jega, were to make
such a mistake in announcing the winner of next year’s presidential
election! Now, that won’t be funny.
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