Maxine Medina apologizes for past “transphobic” remarks

Miss Universe Philippines 2016 Maxine Medina issued a public apology after her past controversial statements about Angela Ponce, the first-ever transgender candidate at Miss Universe, resurfaced over the past few days.

It all started when Medina received criticisms for taking part in an Independence Day campaign of lifestyle magazine Mega, which was all about gender equality and pride.

The Filipina beauty queen was among other celebrities and personalities who posed for the campaign with the text, “We are equal”.

View this post on Instagram

On this day of independence, we are breaking barriers. More than just nationalistic pride, today marks a freedom of self—where we dismiss the fear of being judged, show the world who we truly are, and stand with confidence in our truth. With self-assurance and humility in skill, patronage in advocacy, as well as to demonstrate #HMLoveForAll—regardless of gender, race, status, and beliefs—we are all equal. True freedom is about equality. More than just a photograph, this is a stand in visible solidarity for equality for all mankind. A call to #ReignWithPride, a necessary rejection of labels and breaking away from stereotype, this is an earnest pledge to exercise our human ability to tolerate, accept, and love in equivalence to each other, engaging and fighting for it today, and for the #NextGeneration. I am MAXINE MEDINA, and this is my stand, my state of pride. #MEGAForAll #MEGAEquality #Hm

A post shared by Maria Mika Maxine Medina (@maxine_medina) on Jun 11, 2019 at 8:56pm PDT

However, many netizens disapproved of Medina’s participation in the campaign saying that it was “hypocritical” of her to do so.

They said that Medina did not deserve to get involved in the campaign because of her “transphobic” comments against Ponce last year when the latter won Miss Universe Spain 2018.

“Kung gusto niya talaga sumali, may mga pageants naman for them, na right for them. Let’s give them an idea na mayroon naman talagang pageant for them, para naman equal din sa girls, ‘diba,” Medina previously said in a clip that went viral at the time.

After the backlash she has received, Medina took to Twitter on Thursday to issue an apology and explain her side.

“When I took a stand, that’s not for me to disregard Angela. I was concerned about the other girls joining Miss Universe but that doesn’t mean I am transphobic. I am proud of Angela and I respect her and the community,” she said.

“If I have offended people, I am sorry but it was never my intention,” she added.

A few hours after posting her tweets, she then posted a more lengthy message on Instagram wherein she acknowledged that her past comments on Ponce were “misinformed” and “lacked empathy and understanding”.

She went on to say in her apology that she is, in fact, proud that a transgender woman is given the chance to represent her country and that people should not be afraid of such change.

“It is such a big step forward for us to realize that we shouldn’t be scared of change. We should embrace it because no matter what, we are aiming for the better future for all,” Medina wrote.

She ended her post by saying that she is humbling herself and that she knows that she still has so much to learn about gender equality.

“Equality, I realized, is also about education and learning, not just based on what I know and believe, but also those of others as well,” she said.

View this post on Instagram

Pride month and yesterday's #MEGAForAll and #MEGAEqualityBall saw a resurfacing of a statement I made last year regarding my opinion on Angela Ponce, the first transwoman to join Miss Universe. While I was truly caught in a moment, I'll graciously and humbly say that it was misinformed, and lacking in empathy and understanding. I know first-hand how it is to feel invalidated as I have been bullied all my life, been called names. That's why I really apologize if this is how you felt and still feel. It isn't that I am not supporting a transwoman beauty queen, in fact I was actually proud of Angela, Miss Spain that she made a big step doing this to inspire others and that she had the courage of joining and asking Miss Universe to represent her country as a transwoman. It is such a big step forward for us to realize that we shouldn’t be scared of change. We should embrace it because no matter what, we are aiming for the better future for all. I have much to learn and understand, and that I am willing to do the necessary next steps to more understands the importance of equality in beauty pageants through meeting, speaking with and interacting with people who have different opinions than mine. Equality, I realized, is also about education and learning, not just based on what I know and believe, but also those of others as well. Having been made aware, I am humbling myself as a human being. Now, it is my hope that whether it's Miss Universe and all the other pageants in the world, women and transwomen continue to dream big and prove themselves that as a woman, you can do anything to be the queens you want to be.

A post shared by Maria Mika Maxine Medina (@maxine_medina) on Jun 13, 2019 at 12:50am PDT