Chelsea Manalo. Image: Instagram/@sevenbarretto, @chelseamanalo
The Miss Universe Philippines organization (MUPH) has come to the defense of its reigning queen Chelsea Manalo amid attacks on her made by a Filipino online content creator.
“[MUPH] condemns the recent video commentary of Mr. Adam Genato regarding [Manalo]. His comments are unfair, insensitive, hurtful and dismissive of her accomplishments. We do not tolerate bullying and irresponsible vlogging especially from an accredited MUPh media partner whom we have welcomed in our events,” the organization posted on social media on Friday, Nov. 22.
The statement stems from a video commentary that the content creator uploaded on his platform, criticizing Manalo and her Miss Universe performance. The Filipino beauty queen advanced to the Top 30 of the 73rd Miss Universe pageant held at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City on Nov. 16, and was later proclaimed as Miss Universe Asia.
“Kung si Ahtisa Manalo ang pinadala natin dito sa Mexico, or even si Christi McGarry, Diyos ko, siguro Lord, buong tatlong linggo nitong mula Oct. 29 to Nov. 18, siguro hindi na tayo matutulog. Gano’n kaingay iyong dalawang iyon,” Genato said.
(If Ahtisa Manalo had been sent to Mexico, or even Christi McGarry, my God, perhaps, Lord, the entire three weeks from Oct. 29 to Nov. 18, maybe we’d no longer sleep. That’s how much noise the two would generate.)
Ahtisa was second runner-up to Manalo in the 2024 Miss Universe Philippines pageant, who then competed in the first Miss Cosmo contest where she finished in the Top 10. McGarry was fourth runner-up in the national competition.
“Kasi tignan mo, sino ang pinanalo nila? Si Dennmark, ‘di ba Barbie-looking? Eh sino ba ang closest Barbie-looking natin ngayon dito noong nakaraang MUPH? ‘Di ba si Ahtisa?” Genato continued.
(Look, who did they choose to win? Denmark, isn’t she Barbie-looking? Who in the recent MUPH was closest to being Barbie-looking? Wasn’t it Ahtisa?)
MUPH’s statement cotinued: “For too long, we have allowed such behavior to be tolerated because bashers and haters have been an accepted part of social media. But in reality, we still have a choice to normalize it or speak up against it.”
The organization added: “We believe that content creators, bloggers and vloggers, should be guided by respect, responsibility and decency. In particular, we believe pageant vloggers should exercise greater care in expressing opinions about our delegates, and refrain from making demeaning statements. We also hope that those who are fortunate enough to earn from their platforms should exercise greater amount of responsibility for their commentaries and the content they publish. Making potentially or intentionally controversial statements for clout and engagement, but at the expense of delegates, is detestable.”
McGarry also took to social media to share her thoughts. “[L]et’s please not continue to talk about the ‘would’ve’ and ‘could’ve’s– it’s not what my page is for! [praying hands emoji] Look forward. Miss Universe is granted by destiny. Chelsea is my sis, and my history-making queen, and she should be yours too! [Philippine flag emoji][red heart emoji]” she said.
A member of Manalo’s team, celebrity photographer Seven Barretto, was the first to call out the content creator for the comments that he found was invalidating her merits.
MUPH, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to its “accredited media partners and mainstream media for tirelessly supporting our queens and the pageant industry. We hope the pageant community can unite in promoting a safe online space for our queens.”
Genato has already issued an apology to Manalo and her team in an emotional outburst released on his platform.