Miss France has been crowned as the new Miss Universe 2016. Iris Mittenaere represented her country France for the prestigious competition.It is believed that Mittenaere's answer had a wrong translation.
Here is what the interpreter on stage translated it according to Angelopedia:
I've failed several times in my life, so I thought that I failed the first time that I went out on a casting, because my name wasn't on the list. The very next day, I found that I was in a new book. So I think that when you fail, you have to be elevated, you have to try again, and keep going. If tonight, I'm not one of the winners, I will still have the great honor of being one of the three finalists, so I think that I have failed before, but I think this is a great first opportunity.
A French- Filipino actress-host Solenn Heussaff pointed out on her Twitter page that answer of Mittenaere was mistranslated. Solenn's brother Erwan Heussaff shared the same sentiment on Twitter and then translated Miss France's answer.
The English translation reads, "I have failed several times in my life. I thought I had failed my first year in medical school because my name wasn't on the passing list. So, the very same day I went to buy a new set of medical books to keep on studying. I think when you fail, you need to stand up and keep going, we are all able to do so. If I don't win tonight, I will still keep on smiling tomorrow because I am proud to be part of the 3 finalist. I've learnt a lot from my failures and happily, I did end up passing my first year of medical school." Erwan added that it seems that Mittenaere's translator doesn't speak French.
In the press conference, Miss Universe 2016 Mittenaere defended her translator and she said that her translator is good. However, she did clarify what her answer was in the question and answer portion. Mittenaere said she uttered medical school and not casting.
Watch the question and answer portion of the Miss Universe 2016:
