The term “copycat” has been thrown around a lot these days. When a piece has a similar design, regardless of how low-key it is, there’s going to be a discussion on it. Diet Prada, the online watchdog that calls out fashion imitations, would even make polls that’ll ask followers whether it’s a “Preach” or a “Reach” whenever they make comparisons.
Those types of discussions make you raise an eyebrow and test your critical thinking. That said, when we saw videos of Miss Intercontinental Vietnam wearing a red gown similar to Catriona Gray’s, the copycat arguments went through the roof.
Ngân Anh Lê Âu was the center of criticism because of how she allegedly attempted to imitate Catriona. She didn’t do the lava walk, but she did tuck her hair behind her hair like Catriona did when she reached the end of the catwalk. And you really can’t miss the gown.
Miss Vietnam: Can I copy your homework?
Catriona Gray: Sure.
😂😂😂😂#MissIntercontinental2018 #MissVietnam pic.twitter.com/dwSUYyqjFH— There it is, Claire 🌼 (@claireyu) January 28, 2019
Netizens pointed it out—many were angry, others were ridiculing the imitation. Anh Le addressed the comments and said that this is the reason she’s advocating for cyberbullying. At that point, we don’t know if she did her routine for this very purpose, or she’s just making the most out of a bad situation. Either way, she’s sort of a genius for doing this. (Sort of.)
On the other hand, this begs the question: Does Miss Vietnam deserve the harsh words she’s been receiving? We don’t think so.
We can pass off Anh Le’s performance as being inspired by Catriona—she is Miss Universe 2019 after all. It was too soon to do it though since the Miss U pageant was just a month ago. But it’s also unfair to make demeaning comparisons between her and Catriona. Anh Le has her own accomplishments; she is fourth runner-up in Miss Intercontinental 2019.
You can critique her alleged imitation. But calling her “low budget Catriona Gray” or an “uncultured try-hard swine” is going under the belt just a bit.
Nakakainis si Miss Vietnam ng MI… lahat n lng ginaya niya kay Catriona… Sobrang unacceptable nung ginawa niya… atsaka I think it's disrespectful
— Dar✨ (@mrdarwinjohn) January 28, 2019
If anything, we are interested to hear Catriona Gray and Mak Tumang’s opinions on the matter because that would count more than plain social media hate comments against another beauty queen. We also hope that Anh Le would learn from the experience and inspire other young girls in her own way.
Art by Marian Hukom
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