Miss Universe 2015 first runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez drew flak from Filipino citizens recently after calling Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach a ghost.
In an interview at the online platform of Miss Universe 2017 first runner-up Laura Barjum, Gutierrez talked about her unforgettable mistaken coronation, and the eventual win of Wurtzbach.
“I saw Pia twice in the group. She was like a ghost person. You see her once and you never see her again,” she said.
“Nobody would see her. I was among the Latino girls and beside Asians, but even among Asians, you couldn’t see her.
Gutierrez added that she didn’t see Wurtzbach as competent and that she didn’t think the Filipina beauty queen was going to win.
“When I saw her, I didn’t think she was competent. Pia was rarely mingling with other girls and couldn’t really see her qualities until finals and didn’t think she was going to win.”
Netizens have condemned the Colombian beauty queen for dropping such comments even five years after the competition.
Miss Universe Bulgaria 2015 Radostina Todorova also criticized Gutierrez for her statements, and said that she didn’t notice Wurtzbach because she was always looking down on their group.
“Of course you didn’t see her! I remember you were always laughing at us, at our clothes, and jewelries, at our walk and talks. You were only with the other Latinas looking down on us! I stand behind my words and that’s why we were also happy Pia won!” she said.
She added that Miss Universe is created to embrace true beauty, and that it has nothing to do with looks but with how one makes people feel around them.
“Everybody can be a true beauty queen. It’s not the crown, it’s your heart,” she said. “Please stay healthy and stop cyberbullying. We don’t need that. Especially in those hard times. Embrace love and peace.”
