Singapore—Miss Universe Singapore 2020 Bernadette Belle Wu Ong turned heads and earned praise for a bold statement at the Miss Universe 2020 national costume competition in Florida on Thursday (May 13).
Ms Ong glided down the stage of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel clad in a sparkly red one-piece with matching mid-thigh boots.
She then turned and displayed her red-and-white cape, which reflected the colours of the Singapore flag.
On it was emblazoned “STOP ASIAN HATE”.
Ms Ong, no stranger to the catwalk, is a model who has graced ads for Nike, KFC, Amazon, Singapore Airlines, MasterCard and others. She is also an actor who appeared in Tanglin and Love by Numbers.
But it should come as no surprise that she made a political statement at the competition. For, in the past, she has spoken up for the fair treatment of migrant workers in Singapore, working with the non-government agency It’s Raining Raincoats (IRR).
She posted a video on Instagram of herself at the competition, writing, “I choose how I want to use this platform — what tone and message I want to put across and I am PROUD to make #Singapore shine every step of the way!”
Furthermore, she revealed in the post that she designed the ensemble herself.
In a follow-up post, she wrote that the costume was made in just two days by the Filipino designer Mr Arwin Meriales and hand-painted by another Filipino, Mr Paulo Pilapil.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that Ms Ong reached out to Filipino designers to make her costume, since she was born in the Philippines and lived there till the age of 10, as her father worked there.
Mr Meriales managed to make Ms Ong’s costume, plus two other dresses, even while he was preparing for examinations.
Given the short time frame, he was reluctant to say yes to her, but when he heard what she wanted to do, he agreed.
“What made me say Yes? It’s not just a national costume. It’s a ‘STATEMENT and PROTEST’ to stop asian hate. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of such cause?” he wrote in an Instagram post.
As for Mr Pilapil, he wrote, “I think we can all agree that Bernadette was able to raise the message to the Universe, loud and clear. #StopAsianHate.”
The hashtag refers to a movement begun in the United States in March after six Asian-American women, along with two other people, were killed in spa shootings in Atlanta.
Hate crimes against Asians have almost doubled in the US in the past year, especially after the first cases of Covid-19 were reported from Wuhan, China.
Many of those attacked were elderly persons.
Ms Ong won praise from many online not only for her costume but also for her “fierce attitude”.
The national costume competition may be viewed in full here. Miss Singapore appears past the 52-minute mark.
The 69th Miss Universe pageant will be held on May 16.
/TISG
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