The 70th Miss Universe took place earlier today in Israel, with Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu besting 79 other queens to take home the crown. While we’re a bit bummed that the Philippine bet Beatrice Luigi Gomez didn’t win, we’re proud of her getting into the top five and shining at the pageant. It also helps that the newest Miss Universe was a close favorite of ours. (Meowing in front of a wide global audience? High-key that’s when she won.)
Some of our favorite moments with Gomez include her showing off her tattoo and talking about how it symbolized her womanhood, the golden custom embroidered Francis Libiran gown with Pintados patterns that made her look like a glowing goddess (even Carson Kressley called it his fave), and pointing out in the Q&A that public health is everyone’s responsibility. Also, she kept our semifinals streak, which is the longest ongoing streak among all countries that have joined the pageant.
It’s a little sad that we didn’t get an openly queer Miss Universe this year, but Gomez is also the first openly queer Miss Universe Philippines titleholder ever. That’s an accomplishment in itself.
Aside from Gomez, you know who else high-key stole the show? Our very own Marian Rivera. To quote Steve Harvey, the “recording artist and award-winning film and television star in the Philippines” seemed to have a lot of fun at the pageant. She bonded with fellow judge and Indian actress Urvashi Rautela, even teaching her the dance steps to her song “Sabay Sabay Tayo,” and acted like a proud mama in her FB lives whenever Gomez got a win.
While we still have our own criticisms of the pageant itself, especially the choice to hold it in Israel and mint NFTs of the candidates, we can’t help but be proud of the Filipinas representing us this year.
Art by Pammy Orlina
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