- The new Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu is defending host Steve Harvey.
- Harvey asked Sandhu to give her best animal impersonation and she meowed in front of millions.
- Sandhu told Insider she loved the question and it made her feel comfortable during the competition.
One of the most talked-about moments during Miss Universe was when host Steve Harvey asked Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu to do her best animal impersonation onstage.
Many viewers were bewildered by the moment, but Sandhu — who was crowned Miss Universe just hours later — told Insider that she loved the question.
"We were having so much fun, and that was my ultimate goal, to make everyone laugh," she said. "And when you have a great human being like Steve next to you, then you just can't stop being yourself. And I was just having fun and enjoying myself."
The 21-year-old said she was definitely taken by surprise when she got Harvey's question after being named one of the top 16 finalists.
"I have to do this — I have no other option," Sandhu told Harvey onstage, before cheekily warning the audience to "brace yourself."
Then, the pageant queen let out a few impressive "meows."
"I was like, 'Wait, they want me to do that on the Miss Universe world stage?'" Sandhu told Insider as she recalled the moment. "But then I thought, this is my time to shine and my time to showcase one of my great talents, and why not? We're all here to embrace ourselves."
"I wanted to make the most out of it," she added. "I think everybody was in the moment and everyone enjoyed it, and that's what really matters at the end of the day."
Many viewers on Twitter slammed Harvey's question, asking why Sandhu hadn't been given a chance to share more about herself when other women in the competition got to speak about their careers or philanthropies.
But Sandhu told Insider that she didn't agree with the criticism, adding that it had always been her dream to stand next to Harvey on the Miss Universe stage.
"The ultimate motto of having such questions is to have fun," she said. "We are all different. We have different stories, and everyone was asked something related to their life. I'm happy I was asked a fun question because, at the end of the day, it definitely gets so serious."
"But after that question, I was feeling so comfortable," she added. "We are here to celebrate ourselves. It's not about being the perfect beauty pageant girl. It's about being yourself on the stage, and I think it takes huge courage to do something like that."
Sandhu, who is an actress, revealed she also would have loved to impersonate Harvey onstage.
"I have actually tried to copy him and the way he speaks, but I thought that would be too much for all of us," she said with a laugh.