Altynai Botoyarova Wiki, Biography
Miss Universe CEO Amy Emmerich uploaded an apology video to the beauty pageant’s official YouTube channel. She was seen standing next to Miss Kyrgyzstan 2021 Altynai Botoyarova, who participated in the 71st installment of the pageant.
The CEO apologized on behalf of the organization as the hosts of the preliminary competition did not mention Kyrgyzstan during the live broadcast. In the video, Emmerich said that she wanted to extend her apology to the people of the country and to Altynai.
Unfortunately, in the preliminary competition, our hosts did not say Kyrgyzstan or give you the information you deserve in the proper way. We need to do better, there is no excuse and we apologize.” The hosts of Miss Universe did not name Kyrgyzstan during the preliminary competition.
On January 15, 2023, Miss Universe CEO Amy Emmerich publicly apologized to the people of Kyrgyzstan and to Miss Kyrgyzstan 2021 Altynai Botoyarova on behalf of the hosts of the preliminary competition.
During the preliminary round, the hosts did not mention Kyrgyzstan and kept referring to Altynai’s country as Kazakhstan, a neighboring country. While both are Asian countries and were formerly part of the Soviet Union, they were two separate countries.
Along with the YouTube video, the Miss Universe Organization also released a statement mentioning that they pride themselves on being a space that gives women a platform to “expose their culture to the world.”
He further stated that the team offers an apology to Kyrgyzstan for not saying the name of the country during the recent event in New Orleans and vowed to do better in the future.
In response, the contestant, who was also present in the video, graciously accepted the apology, saying that by taking the issue seriously, the pageant has proven to be the best competition. She said she wanted to express her “deep gratitude” to the Miss Universe organization for showing why they are the “biggest and best competition.”
Translated into English, she said:
“Thank you for your sincere apology, I really appreciate it. I am Miss Kyrgyzstan 2021 and I proudly represent my country Kyrgyzstan here. I want to express my deep gratitude to the Miss Universe Organization for taking this matter seriously.”
The round in question was hosted by WDSU and NBC Channel 6’s Randy Russo and reigning Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu. The former winner also took to her social media account to issue an apology. In an Instagram Story, she stated that she would never intentionally say or do anything to upset a contestant and her followers.
She added:
“The preliminary competition was my first time as a co-host and nervousness got the better of me. My nervousness on stage does not reflect the deep respect I have for Kyrgyzstan. Altynai, please accept my sincere apologies.”
After Sandhu’s apology, Botoyarova took to social media to acknowledge him and empathize with the former winner. She said that Harnaaz was probably worried and mentioned that everyone makes mistakes.
Translated into English, she wrote:
“As you all know by now, the Miss Universe pageant got my country wrong. I was introduced 4 times as Kazakhstan. But today, they apologized. On the one hand, I understand the presenter Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu, most likely, she was worried. And sometimes there are such mistakes when you’re worried.”
She also mentioned that she was “grateful” to the Miss Universe management for her apology and stated that it was a sign of her “professionalism”.