Catriona Gray (Images: Image: Instagram/@catriona_gray, @catrionauniverse)
Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray took to Instagram to present herself as a Filipina following the introduction she received as a judge in Miss Universe Colombia.
The pageant’s host, speaking in Spanish, described Gray as an “Australian by birth but represented the Philippines [in Spanish]” during the pageant held yesterday, Nov. 17.
After the program, the beauty queen posted through her Instagram Stories a photo of her captioned only by the word “Filipina.”
Fans have since pointed out that Gray looked uncomfortable with the introduction and connected the said post to the introduction. Gray, however, has yet to release an official statement regarding the issue.
One of the beauty queen’s fan pages, which has the Instagram handle @catrionauniverse, stressed yesterday that they should “Never disrespect the Queen like that again.”
“Who wouldn’t fake a smile if your last tame is like that. You’ve been introduced as ‘Australian by birth but represented Philippines after living for a few years there,'” posted Twitter user @Jo_vian_18 yesterday.
The netizen’s tweet came with a screenshot of Gray, who he said was apparently faking a smile, and a screenshot of the said Instagram Story.
Who wouldn't fake a smile if your last tame is like that. You've been introduced as “Australian by birth but represented Philippines after living for a few years there.”
next pic: Catriona's IG Story her photo with a “Filipina” word on it.#MissUniversecolombia2020 #CatrionaGray pic.twitter.com/MjWWOuFbEE— Jv Tentativa (@Jo_vian_18) November 17, 2020
Other than the host’s introduction, fans have also been calling out how the former Miss Universe’s surname was misspelled as “Garay” in the on-screen graphics of the program.
“Just who is Catriona Garay? Kaloka ‘yong host/organizers ng [Miss] Universe Colombia 2020, instead of simply introducing her as [Miss] Universe 2018, binanggit pa talaga ‘yong pagiging Australian ni Cat pero ni hindi man lang nila ma-spell ng tama ‘yong surname nong tao,” Twitter user @hiram_ryu meanwhile stressed.
(The host/organizers of Miss Universe Colombia 2020 is driving me crazy, instead of simply introducing her as Miss Universe 2018, they really had to mention how Cat is Australian but they could not even spell her surname right.)
Just who is Catriona Garay?
Kaloka ‘yong host/organizers ng Ms Universe Colombia 2020, instead of simply introducing her as Ms Universe 2018, binanggit pa talaga ‘yong pagiging Australian ni Cat pero ni hindi man lang nila ma-spell ng tama ‘yong surname nong tao. 😤 pic.twitter.com/W2r3YZNvs5
— FuturePedia MD 🇵🇹🇵🇭🇰🇷 (@hiram_ryu) November 17, 2020
Gray is both Australian and Filipino. She was born in Queensland, Australia to a Scottish-born Australian father and Filipina mother from Albay.
“I may not have been born and raised in the Philippines, but my heart is with the Philippines,” Gray told INQUIRER.net in an exclusive interview back in January 2019.
The 26-year-old beauty queen was raised in Cairns, Queensland, but moved to the Philippines in 2011, when she was in her teens. She modeled and pursued her love for music, hosting and being a spokesperson, before she eventually bagged the Miss Universe Philippines crown in 2018. /ra
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