STEVE Harvey has been slammed for making Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu do a cat impression at the Miss Universe pageant.

The comedian, 64, was branded "ridiculous" for urging Harnaaz to "meow" onstage in Eilat, Israel, over the weekend.

Steve took Harnaaz by surprise when he asked: "I hear you do some pretty good animal impersonations. Let’s hear your best one."

Harnaaz looked startled and laughed, saying: "Oh my god, Steve, I was not expecting to do this on the world stage."

The 21-year-old relented, telling the audience: "I have to do this, I have no other option."

She joked that fans should "brace" themselves, before lifting up her hands into "paws" and meowing into Steve's microphone.

Viewers at home slammed Steve and the competition for making such a trivial request of Harnaaz.

She is, in fact, a firm advocate for women's rights and empowerment in India and works with her gynaecologist mother to spread awareness about women's hygiene at health camps.

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By comparison, other contestants like Miss Panama Brenda Smith discussed her position at the UN, while Miss Great Britain Emma Collingridge reflected on her fight against gender-based violence.

One fan posted on Twitter: "Why the f**k ya made miss India meow like a cat in front of everyone but gave all the other contestants solid questions?"

BACKLASH

"They really made Miss India meow huh could’ve asked another question," another agreed.

A third critic raged: "THEY REALLY DID MISS INDIA BAD SHE HAD TO MEOW."

Harnaaz got to display her knowledge later on in the show when she used her platform to speak about climate change and ended up being crowned Miss Universe

The thing is, it clearly made no difference as in the end Sandhu was crowned Miss Universe, after using the platform to speak on climate change (when she wasn’t being asked to meow).

STEVE'S BLUNDERS

Steve – who has hosted Miss Universe several times – also came under fire for confusing Paraguay and Portugal while announcing the two finalists.

The other two finalists were Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane.

Meanwhile, back in 2015, the father-of-seven crowned the first runner-up Miss Colombia the winner instead of Miss Philippines.

One Twitter user posted: “Is it just me or is Steve Harvey continually inappropriate and continues to make embarrassing gaffes.

"Asking Miss India to make cat sounds, then (again) mixing up country names – this time calling Miss Paraguay, Miss Portugal. I think he should move on."

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