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WATCH: Catriona Gray weighs in on transgender contestant in Miss Universe

Miss Universe Philippines 2018 Catriona Gray weighed in on the highly-debated results of the recently concluded Miss Spain 2018 beauty pageant, wherein a transgender contestant was crowned as the winner.

On June 29, 25-year-old Angela Ponce bagged the Miss Spain 2018 crown making her the first transwoman to win the title and to compete in the most coveted beauty pageant.

Meanwhile, Gray, who will be representing the Philippines in Miss Universe, said in an interview with ABS-CBN that she has no problems competing with a transgender contestant.

“Personally, I have no problems with it. But I do understand why there’s quite an uproar amongst all the fans and different people looking at the issue because it is a very young discussion,” she said.

“But you know I think it really depends, one on the Miss Universe Organization, if they allow it and that’s their prerogative; and the country itself. If that contestant can go through the casting process, become a candidate, and earn the right to represent her country, then why not? Who are we to say, ‘You know that’s wrong.’ I mean it’s the discretion of the organization,” Gray added.

While many pageant fans are against it, Gray defended the Spanish beauty queen.

“I understand the discussion and I am trying to see it from all of the sides. But a side that we need to consider is that this contestant didn’t wake up one day saying, ‘I want to be a woman’. This is someone who she has identified to be since she was a child. So in her inner being, she is a woman. Are we open-minded to allow her to compete with other women? I think that is something we should talk about,” she said.

When asked how she will approach Ponce when they meet in Miss Universe, Gray said that she does not see the Spanish beauty queen differently, but would like to know her story so that she could “understand her side of the whole situation”.

In 2012, when the Miss Universe Organization was still under the management of current US President Donald Trump, pageant organizers lifted the ban on transgender contestants.

Transwomen are now allowed to join in one of the world’s most prestigious beauty pageant given that they were able to win the national title in their home country.

In the same interview, Gray also assured Filipino pageant fans that she is working hard to prepare for the prestigious pageant.

Miss Universe 2018 has yet to announce the final date and venue this year, but it is expected to take place in November either in Macau, South Korea, or Vietnam.

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