BETTER late than never.
Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 Nguyen Thi Loan has apologized to reigning Miss International Kylie Verzosa of the Philippines and to the Filipinos following her “ugly” comment to the Filipino beauty queen last year.
Nguyen, who will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas next month, issued a public apology on Instagram last Oct. 20.
During the televised Miss International 2016 beauty pageant, Nguyen commented “ugly” on IG as Verzosa paraded in her emerald swimwear during the swimsuit competition of the contest.
Filipino fans then bashed Nguyen for her remarks. Verzosa was eventually crowned Miss International 2016 at the end of the pageant. She became the sixth Filipino to win the prestigious contest.
Nguyen’s full statement read:
“Dear Kylie & Filipino Beauty Fans,
“I would like to clarify a comment that I made last year. Please give me a minute to explain.
“A year ago, when I was checking information on social media, I saw a picture of Kylie, Miss International 2016. Just by natural reaction, I thought that it was not a good picture of her and I commented based on my honest feelings. You would agree with me that sometimes, even the most beautiful person, could have a non-really photogenic picture… due to the angle, lighting or a wrong moment.
“Perhaps, I could have stated things more clearly but due to my limited English I made you all misunderstood me. I want to emphazise that i don’t judge or comment about people just like that. Instead of being more explanative about my meaning, after realizing that I did not use my words correctly, I immediately deleted the comment.
“After that, I decided to keep silent because I did not want to cause any more misunderstandings or accidentally hurt anyone’s feelings (including Kylie’s ones if she would have noticed about that).
“I am so sorry for any inconvenience caused. I sincerely apologize for hurting Kylie and you by accident. This is a lesson for me and I will take more care in the future.
“I wish all Filipino fans good health and happiness… and congratulations Kylie for your successful year term as Miss International 2016. Best wishes for you!!” Nguyen said.
“Nguyen, 27, is pageant veteran in her country. She first competed in the Miss Vietnam 2010 contest where she finished in the Top 5. In 2013, she was second runner-up at the Miss Vietnam Ethnic pageant. She also represented Vietnam at the Miss World 2014 contest and became one of the Top 25 semifinalists.
In 2016, she also joined Miss Grand International where she finished in the Top 20. Earlier this year, she was appointed to represent her country at the 2017 Miss Universe beauty contest in Las Vegas, Nevada on Nov. 26.
