Top Model Host Announces Wrong Winner

Wednesday, 29 September 2010 | by Pat's Picks

I feel for Sarah Murdoch. She?s the host of Australia?s ?Next Top Model,? and she was at the helm for a huge on-air gaffe. Video of the live telecast shows Murdoch?s face freeze as she?s told in her earpiece she announced the wrong winner. Talk about awkward. The woman initially named the winner was in the middle of giving her ?thank you? speech to the audience when the mistake was piped into Murdoch?s earpiece. At about 34 seconds into the video clip you can see her reaction as she?s told of the mistake.. She doesn’t recover well, but as Rupert Murdoch’s daughter-in-law she’ll probably get a break.

According to an article in the Australian, many viewers thought the flub was staged. According to insiders, the network was vying for Amanda Ware, who ultimately won the contest and left the voting lines open longer than usual. They said the final decision came down to three votes. The decision to announce the correct winner instead of letting Kelsey Martinovich keep the title was one based on the fact that the show’s votes are audited.