Miss Earth Canada claims she experienced sexual harassment in Manila

Canada’s representative to the Miss Earth 2018 pageant which was held on November 3 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay claimed that she experienced sexual harassment from one of the pageant’s sponsors.

Through an Instagram post, Miss Earth Canada Jaime VandenBerg narrated: “I left to compete at an international pageant in the Philippines about a month ago. I was so excited because I had been to the Philippines before and loved the country and the people; however, the experience with the pageant was not what I had expected.”

View this post on Instagram

Woke up to a bunch of huge holes in my back yard, suggestions to get rid of a badger? #Hibernation #warmwinter #BadgerProblem pic by @rswphotographic ?

A post shared by Jaime VandenBerg (@missjaimeyvonne) on Nov 20, 2017 at 7:57am PST

“I left Miss Earth because I did not feel safe under their care,” she said, referring to her decision to leave the pageant even before the coronation night.

In her lengthy Instagram post, VandenBerg said that it was during the second day of the pageant when she received a call from one of the sponsors, even if she did not give her personal phone number to him.

View this post on Instagram

I joined Miss Earth Alberta for a fitness goal. I wanted to work hard to be the best version of myself when I walked on that stage. When I won best in swimsuit back to back I was proud of myself for the work I put in to maintain my body. Healthy living is different for many individuals because different people require different lifestyles. No matter the lifestyle, the constant remains that proper nutrition and activity are key. When I competed in Miss Universe Canada I went vegetarian without supplementing the nutrients I cut from my diet. I had very low iron and was not the best version of myself despite the weight I lost. It is very important to make sure we take care of our body. Our body requires sources of protein to keep strong but that protein doesn’t have to come from meat. Paul Hawken explains the connection of diet and sustainability, “Plant-rich diets reduce emissions and also tend to be healthier, leading to lower rates of chronic disease. According to a 2016 study, business-as-usual emissions could be reduced by as much as 70 percent through adopting a vegan diet and 63 percent for a vegetarian diet, which includes cheese, milk, and eggs”. While plant-rich diets can be a huge key to sustainability, I appreciate that Hawken doesn’t encourage every one to completely cut meat. It is important to recognize the benefits such as iron and protein people get from eating meat and that by simply cutting it from your diet can be dangerous. Self-care is extremely important so whatever your lifestyle is remember that the key to good health is to balance proper nutrition and fitness. How do you stay healthy? Share below ? #MissEarthCanada #HealthyOverSkinny #LoveYourself

A post shared by Jaime VandenBerg (@missjaimeyvonne) on Oct 14, 2018 at 9:38pm PDT

“The second day of the pageant I felt uncomfortable because a sponsor from the first night was given my phone number, without my consent, and was calling me asking for my hotel and room number. I gave my phone to a team manager so that she could resolve the issue, but it did not work,” she said.

The Canadian beauty queen said that one of the sponsors gave her indecent proposal asking for “sexual favors” in exchange for her good placement in the pageant.

“He showed up to almost all of my events telling me he could take care of my needs and asked for sexual favors in exchange to get me further in the pageant. I was disgusted. He showed up to a hotel some girls were staying at and when I ran into him he continued to ask for my room number,” VandenBerg said.

“I was lucky I wasn’t staying at that hotel. After so many strange calls, I recognized his phone number and was able to block it,” she continued.

View this post on Instagram

It has been a very busy day of touring Albay! All of the events are put together by so many people! It is important to recognize the people assisting us. Today, each delegate had a student accompanying them with an umbrella ☔️. It is often those people who go overlooked. Bilal is a citizen of India, who has been living in the Philippines for two years studying at a medical school ?‍⚕️. While pageant title holders get a lot of attention for the things we’ve accomplished it is important to remember that no title defines who you are. People all over the world are achieving incredible things. Take time to congratulate the people in your life on any kind of achievement they have made because celebrating these things can truly improve your daily attitude and make you feel more successful. ?#CelebrateSuccess #BeEmpowered #DoYou

A post shared by Jaime VandenBerg (@missjaimeyvonne) on Oct 20, 2018 at 10:10pm PDT

She said that she was not the only one who experienced harassment from the said sponsor. VandenBerg no longer disclosed the identity of the person she was referring to but said that he owns a yacht at the Manila Yacht Club.

“At an event at the Manila Yacht Club he took all of the delegates in my group to his yacht and had some girls take sultry photos. Again, I was disgusted.

“Later in the pageant we had another sponsor event at the Manila Yacht Club and he was telling girls he could take them to Boracay, as long as we didn’t tell any one.

“A group of us left to sit outside as we did not feel comfortable. He followed us outside and was upset we were not dancing with him. The team managers laughed and told us to be nice.

“Eventually we were allowed to go and sit on the bus because we refused to go back to his yacht. Six girls and myself left because we felt unsafe at that event.

View this post on Instagram

Yesterday we began the morning with a school tour! It was incredible to meet so many young girls passionate about helping the environment ?. Women empowerment is huge because we make up half the population of the world but continue to be treated less than equal. In Canada many do not notice the gender inequality; however, the more I travel the more relevant it has been in my life. If woman can empower each other rather than comparing or competing we can make a stronger impact and together we can change the world. As it is Canadian Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the strong women in my life, especially my mom, who have inspired me to pursue my dreams. Thank you, Kabayanan Elementary School, San Juan! #iloveplanetearthschooltour #MissEarth #MissEarth2018 #iloveplanetearth #thanksmom #happythansgiving #MissCanada

A post shared by Jaime VandenBerg (@missjaimeyvonne) on Oct 8, 2018 at 5:59pm PDT

“I asked many times why more girls weren’t given the option to leave but, was never given an answer,” she said.

VandenBerg said that she opened up the incident to Lorraine Schuck, the executive vice president of Carousel Productions, the company that runs the Miss Earth pageant, but the latter did not do anything about it.

She also added that her passport and some of her personal belongings were confiscated by pageant organizers without her consent.

“I am so thankful for the friends I made who helped me fight to get my passport back and leave the unsafe situation I was in. I shouldn’t have to face any kind of harassment in order to represent my country,” she said.

After the incident, VandenBerg updated her Instagram bio with a statement that reads, “Sexual harassment should not be normalized in the entertainment industry”.

View this post on Instagram

I left to compete at an international pageant in the Philippines about a month ago. I was so excited because I had been to the Philippines before and loved the country and the people; however, the experience with the pageant was not what I had expected. I left Miss Earth because I did not feel safe under their care. The second day of the pageant I felt uncomfortable because a sponsor from the first night was given my phone number, without my consent, and was calling me asking for my hotel and room number. I gave my phone to a team manager so that she could resolve the issue, but it did not work. He showed up to almost all of my events telling me he could take care of my needs and asked for sexual favours in exchange to get me further in the pageant. I was disgusted. He showed up to a hotel some girls were staying at and when I ran into him he continued to ask for my room number. I was lucky I wasn’t staying at that hotel. After so many strange calls, I recognized his phone number and was able to block it. At an event at the Manila Yacht Club he took all of the delegates in my group to his yacht and had some girls take sultry photos. Again, I was disgusted. Later in the pageant we had another sponsor event at the Manila Yacht Club and he was telling girls he could take them to Boracay, as long as we didn’t tell any one. A group of us left to sit out side as we did not feel comfortable. He followed us outside and was upset we were not dancing with him. The team mangers laughed and told us to be nice. Eventually we were allowed to go and sit on the bus because we refused to go back to his yacht. Six girls and myself left because we felt unsafe at that event. I asked many times why more girls weren’t given the option to leave but, was never given an answer. That night a few of us were given the opportunity to bring our concerns to Miss Lorraine, the woman in charge of the pageant. I went through almost two weeks of sexual harassment before I anything was done about it. I was told he would not be around any more, but I had advised Lorraine of several other issues that were not resolved. Miss Peachy, another employee of the pageant, spoke with me at an event about…

A post shared by Jaime VandenBerg (@missjaimeyvonne) on Nov 6, 2018 at 11:29am PST

Lorraine Schuck speaks up

In an interview with Lhar Santiago for 24 Oras, Schuck said that they immediately gave VandenBerg her passport when she asked for it and that no one informed her about the sexual harassment incidents.

She said that there were team managers who were assigned to every group but the issue never reached her.

“Because she never told us. She came here on the sixth, we found out about it on the 14th. She never told anyone,” she said.

Schuck also said that she would never tolerate sexual harassment against any of the candidates.

“So, galit na galit ako sa mga team managers kasi kung ako tinawagan nila at may incident na ganoon, ipu-pull-out ko lahat because I won’t allow that to happen,” she said.