Miss Universe Philippines Rabiya Mateo said she personally apologized to Miss Universe Canada Nova Stevens and Miss Universe Thailand Amanda Obdam who received cyberbullying from some Filipino fans.
According to PEP.ph, Rabiya said she sent personal messages to her co-candidates and asked for their forgiveness.
“I actually personally sent messages to Amanda, to Nova saying sorry because these hate speeches that we see online, this is not a reflection of who we are as Filipinos,” the Miss Universe Philippines titleholder said.
“I can say that we do love pageants, and we support girls. And with Miss Universe, the goal is to celebrate the differences and to be with the girls and the cause that they stand for,” she added.
Rabiya also expressed sadness over the racist comments Miss Universe Canada Nova Stevens received.
“I saw the post of Nova earlier today and I really feel sorry [for] her because nobody deserves to be in that position,” the beauty queen said.
Rabiya Mateo apologized to Miss Canada, Thailand for Pinoys’ bullying online
“I’ve been bashed, you know. And there was a moment that a lot of people would tell me, ‘That’s normal, you’re a beauty queen.’ But I’ve seen how… it affected not just me but also other candidates. We have a WhatsApp group and we would talk about it,” Rabiya Mateo continued.
The Miss Universe Philippines added she already asked her fans for help and told them to report accounts that bully others online. Rabiya also shared her plans in making an anti-bullying video campaign video.
“I would always campaign, as a person, I do not tolerate bullying in all forms and in all ways. That’s why I’m actually planning to make a video, me and the organization is planning to make a video to make an appeal to the public to stop being rude because it costs nothing to be kind.”
Rabiya Mateo added, “And it doesn’t feel good, it doesn’t feel nice [to be bashed]. And I need to do something to stop it.”
On Tuesday, Miss Universe Canada 2020 Stevens posted screenshots of negative comments against her which were in Tagalog.
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