Anderson Cooper Under Fire For Insulting Miss Peru National Costume At Miss Universe 2013; Peru Wants Apology

Anderson Cooper got himself into trouble after "insulting" Miss Perú's national costume at the Miss Universe 2013 pageant. Cooper added the ensemble to his "RidicuList" segment of his "AC360" show because he found it hilarious that contestant Cindy Mejía was carrying a plastic doll meant to resemble a baby, on her back. He was unable to control his laughter once he saw the "little old man baby" attached to the shoulder of Mejía's costume. "What says Peru more than colorful flowers and what appears to be a plastic little old man baby on her shoulder wearing a hat?" said Cooper on the segment, just before bursting into laughter.

"Oh look, the man baby looks surprised! He's got his little, little man baby hand right up there in front of his face like, 'Oh! I'm a little -- I'm a man baby from Peru.' Can we see that again?" Cooper insisted, unable to continue talking because of his unstoppable giggles. Mejía wore an ensemble designed by Ricardo Dávila that was meant to be a stylized depiction of traditional clothing worn by women in the Mantaro Valley. RPP Noticias reports that Dávila was recognized by Peru's national congress in 2009 as a "designer of traditional costumes for the new millennium." Mejía was carrying a "manta" that is a large rectangle of woven fabric folded in half and tied in a knot at the mother's chest, which now has been commercialized as the baby sling, becoming very popular in America.

Unfortunately, Anderson Cooper wasn't the only one making fun of the costume. It made it to the Telegraph's "10 Most Alarming Looks" list adding, "Miss Peru looks like she went on an Inca Trail package tour and robbed an entire Andean village of souvenirs. Meanwhile, there's nothing quite so sinister as a plastic baby in a straw trilby whispering evil nothings in your ear when you're trying to catwalk." Nevertheless, people in Perú couldn't be more proud of their national costume this year at the beauty pageant, and are demanding an apology claiming that his comments were a direct insult to the traditional dress worn by Peruvian women of the Mantaro Valley region. What do you think? Was this costume ridiculous or actually portrayed the reality of indigenous women in Perú?