Oprah Winfrey | Photo courtesy of OWN

Oprah Winfrey purportedly released a statement a few hours after the Miss Universe 2011 was crowned, yesterday. Below is the said statement which was allegedly shared by Oprah to NBC News:

“I have reservations with the results. If the only basis is the Q and A portion…, after having been trimmed down to 5, Ms. Philippines deserved to win. What made her different from the rest is that she had no seconds to rethink of her answer as she had no interpreter to break the ice. The rest had their interpreters and having breaks on seconds to think about their answers. Hands down, Ms. Philippines answered straight to the point.”

The alleged Oprah statement made its rounds in social media sites and was even picked up by some news sites despite the absence of a reliable "mother link."

Just today, Oprah Winfrey's camp has denied the "Queen of Talk" making the said statement.

"There is no truth to the statement. Ms. Winfrey has not made any comments of this nature." the moderator of Oprah's official website said.

Miss Universe 2011 candidate Catalina Robayo of Colombia

The Miss Universe 2011 pageant was successfully held yesterday at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil. But did you know that barely 24 hours before the coronation night, the contestants were reportedly reminded of wearing their panties?

The main candidate in question was Miss Colombia Catalina Robayo who was alleged of going commando, wearing no panty at her official Miss Universe 2011 appearances.

Quoting a source, Fox News reported that Miss Colombia "had to be spoken to and told she needed to wear underpants as what she was doing was totally inappropriate.”

“People have been pretty upset by it; there have been photos and media appearances where she has completely had her crotch out,” the source added.

Paula Shugart, President of the Miss Universe Organization, also told Fox News that she was surprised seeing Catalina Robayo's commando photo on a newspaper.

“There were several girls in short dresses which caused concern, but when I saw the (commando) picture on the front page of one of the local papers I was very, very surprised,” Shugart said.

“Our supervisors talked to all of the contestants about dressing appropriately, and one of our PR people spoke to her (Robayo) and apparently she said she was wearing underwear. But regardless, it created quite a stir here for a few days,” she added.

Miss Colombia entered the Top 16 during the pageant night but failed to make it to the Top 10.

The Miss Universe 2011 crown went to Miss Angola Leila Lopes, the 1st Angolan and 4th black woman to win the title. Representatives of Ukraine, Brazil, the Philippines, and China placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively.

Manny Pacquiao a Miss Universe 2011 judge?

There are unverified reports that boxing champ and Sarangani Congressman Manny Pacquiao will be judging the Miss Universe 2011 beauty pageant.

According to forum talks and blog posts, Pacquiao, who is currently on a 4-city global tour promoting his upcoming fight with Juan Manuel Marquez this November, will fly to Sao Paolo after completing his current commitments. However, there has been no official confirmation from the Miss Universe organizers yet.

A list of Miss Universe 2011 judges came out recently and it contains only the names of Helios Castroneves (racing champ), Connie Chung (journalist), Isabeli Fontana (supermodel), Vivica Fox (actress and TV producer), Adrienne Maloof (actress), Lea Salonga (movie and theater actress), and Amelia Vega (beauty queen).

The 2011 Miss Universe Coronation Night is set to be staged at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil on Monday, September 12 at 9 p.m. ET (September 13, 9 a.m., Manila Time).

The list of Miss Universe 2011 judges has been revealed today and it includes Filipina Tony Award winner and actress Lea Salonga.

Six of the Miss Universe 2011 candidates during their swimsuit photo shoot | AP

Joining Lea Salonga in judging the 89 lovely candidates of the Miss Universe 2011, are the following:

--Helios Castroneves, three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500;
--Connie Chung, U.S. broadcast legend;
--Isabeli Fontana, Brazilian supermodel;
--Vivica Fox, actress & television producer;
--Adrienne Maloof, from Bravo's hit series "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"; and
--Amelia Vega, Miss Universe 2003.

The hosts of the 2011 Miss Universe Coronation Night will be Andy Cohen, host of Bravo's "Watch What Happens: Live," and Natalie Morales, news anchor of NBC's "Today."

There will also be performances from Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Bebel Gilberto and Brazilian native pop singer Claudia Leitte.

The 2011 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant will be broadcast live from Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil on Monday, September 12 at 9 p.m. ET (September 13, 9 a.m., Manila Time).

Shamcey Supsup

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup has been predicted to join the Top 15 Semi-finalists in the prestigious Miss Universe 2011 beauty pageant. The prediction was made by a well-known beauty pageant website Global Beauties.

Global Beauties said Shamcey Supsup is "very charming" and "one of the faces of the competition."

"After a decade “in the dark”, it looks like the Philippines has managed to be back on track, and shall compete strongly for the second consecutive year in Miss U. Shamcey is very charming and as one of the faces of the competition. Like in 2010, the pageant-fanatic Filipino fans have good reasons to rave about." Global Beauties wrote.

Global Beauties also listed the contingents from Angola, Aruba, Australia, China, Costa Rica, France, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and USA.

It is just a prediction but fans can actually make it happen for Shamcey Supsup since for the first time in the history of Miss Universe, one candidate can instantly be included in the Top 15 by winning the online voting. To vote, follow these simple steps:

1. Head to this page: http://missuniverse.com/members/profile/599558/year:2011

2. Click on "Vote"

3. On the form that pops out, supply your email address and the captcha code; click on the items that certify your age and agreement of the site's rules; vote 10 and click submit.

It's that simple! You can vote for Shamcey up to 10 times a day per email address until 6 a.m. on September 12, 2011. The coronation night will be on September 13 (Manila Time) and will be aired straight from Sao Paulo, Brazil on ABS-CBN.

Shamcey Supsup's Miss Universe gown

Shamcey Supsup was recently made to answer three questions for her web interview - all were generic questions also given to the rest of the Miss Universe 2011 candidates. Here were Shamcey's answers:

Do you believe in life on other planets?

Well, I believe there are other people in other planets because if we are living on earth and it's a big place... and it is small... you know... thing compared to the galaxy and another galaxy... I believe there are people out there. We just have to find them out sooner.

What advantage do women have over men?

Well, I think one advantage is that we rely on our intuition. And they always say that when a woman has an intuition, it is usually right.  So we know if you are lying or not. So guys don't ever fool us. noypistuff

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Hmmmm... If I'd be an animal, I wanna be bird... because I wanna fly without limit.. like see the mountains and the seas...  And you know just feel free and feel the wind on my face. So I'd be a bird, any kind of bird.

Check out the video of the said Shamcey Supsup's Miss Universe 2011 web interview below:



Shamcey Supsup, the Philippines' representative, is competing against 88 other candidates from all over the world in Brazil right now for the most coveted Miss Universe 2011 title. The  pageant's coronation will be on September 13th and will be aired live on ABS-CBN.

Shamcey Supsup, the Philippines' representative to this year's Miss Universe beauty pageant, did her official photo-shoot with photographer Raymond Saldaña recently where she tried out different looks. One of the most striking would have to be this short hair (a wig) she tried on. It said to have made her look more sexy and sophisticated, and thus might give her more chances of getting the Miss U judges' attention. What do you think? Check out photos of Shamcey Supsup in short hair below:

Photos courtesy of BPCI, Raymond Saldaña, Shamcey Supsup's Facebook fan pages