Miss Universe PH 2024 Chelsea Manalo turns funny moment to source of inspiration

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New Miss Universe Philippines Chelsea Manalo of Bulacan, with predecessor Michelle Marquez Dee. Image: screengrab from YouTube/Empire PH

Newly crowned 2024 Miss Universe Philippines Chelsea Manalo has acknowledged that she has “entered the meme world” when photos of an interesting moment of her coronation spread online, showing her masterfully balancing the crown that was put on a precariously dangerous placement on her head.

“Oo, na-balance ko siya (Yes, I was able to balance it), so it’s already enough to say that is what makes a queen. You have to balance it,” the 24-year-old Bulacan lass said at her post-coronation media conference held at Belmont Hotel in Pasay City on May 24.

“Well, the crown has a little bit of a weight, so when Michelle really put it on my head, because it’s the crowning moment, it’s the winning photo already, so I really didn’t feel that it was gonna fall because it was really on my head. So I thought it’s gonna be okay, until I turned on the side and it kinda slipped, then Ms. Michelle Dee already fixed it. It was only a matter of a minute, inayos din naman niya (she did fix it). So don’t worry about it guys,” she explained.

INQUIRER.net also asked her about a social media post saying she almost quit the pageant. Director Rod Singh shared that when the team of pageant shoe provider Jojo Bragais tapped her for the brand’s Miss Universe Philippines campaign, Manalo intimated that she may have to leave the competition due to her diminishing resources. But the filmmaker told her, “You are our muse.”

The eventual winner drew encouragement from her selection, and somehow found a way to attract more support for her to continue with the competition. And not only was she proclaimed as Miss Jojo Bragais, the lone special award she received from a multitude of others distributed in the competition, she also took home the top prize.

“I joined here as an independent woman. Everything that I had to go through, I laid out on myself. I told my mom and my dad, I want to join this season, so they really did support me. And because of this, I had to also [quit] my job. The only income I have was just, a couple amount,” Manalo shared.

“I was about to quit. But thank God there are people who supported me to continue and push me to continue further. I’ve had a lot of help from the governor from Bulacan, so I would really like to say thank you to Gov. Daniel Fernando for helping me, and Vice Gov. Alex Castro,” she continued.

She also would not have made it through if it were not for renowned accessories maker and fashion designer Manny Halasan, also from Bulacan, who supported her with her wardrobe requirements. The two developed a deep bond since her participation in the 2017 Miss World Philippines pageant at 17 years old.

Manalo also addressed the detractors who have come up online, seeking to invalidate her hard work and impressive on-stage performance during the coronation show held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on May 22. “I really don’t want to focus on anything negative at the moment, especially the comments. As I’ve said, when I won the Miss Universe Philippines crown and sash, I really looked up to my parents and listened to them, those people who are close to me, because they are [who] really matter the most,” she said.

“These negative comments…it will bring people down, but it would never take me down. It will never take my crown down, I will always lift my head up. So I hope that instead of saying anything negative, just uplift, you know, uplift the candidates, uplift those who are really deserving,” she continued.

Manalo hopes to be able to enjoy the support of the entire nation, as her predecessor had, as she competes in the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico later this year. She is aiming to score the Philippines’ fifth victory in the global tilt.

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