SINGAPORE: A video clip of local beauty pageant contestants posted on social media some weeks ago went viral recently, with many commenters leaving unkind and even savage remarks insulting the women’s looks.
The video, which showed some of the finalists of Miss Grand International Singapore 2024, was posted on the Instagram account AO Ventures, the pageant’s organizer, on April 29.
The fourteen women in the video were dressed casually and in minimal make-up, if any. They were also tagged in the post.
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In other words, it was not a typical video from beauty pageant organizers where contestants are all glammed up and airbrushed to perfection.
Compared to the photo below, which was later posted by @aoveturesasia, the women look very different in the video.
No matter how one feels about beauty pageants, no one deserves unkindness. While some of the commenters showed support for the “queens,” many more were disparaging.
“They don’t look good and they can’t walk,” was one of the milder comments. “I mean.. that’s the best 12 you can find to represent beauty for your contest?” an Instagram user chimed in.
However, by the time the video was re-shared on Reddit, many more commenters left positive remarks.
“They Had No Make-Up Or Filter On”: Organiser Of Beauty Pageant Miss Grand Singapore Defends Finalists After Netizens Mock Their Looks In IG Video
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“They all look pretty awesome,” wrote one. “None of those girls were ugly,” another wrote, refuting the comments on the Instagram post.
One Reddit user wrote that the contestants are “Still prettier than half of my female jc (junior college) classmates.”
After the IG video went viral, Ms Adeline Hokulani, AO Venture’s pageant national director, told The New Paper that the clip had been taken on the first day that the women were training for the pageant together and when they were all introduced to one another.
Last year’s Miss Grand Singapore, Ms Jade Wu, has also weighed in on the matter, acknowledging that while unkind remarks online are not uncommon, the April 29 IG post comments were “another level.”
“When people are being nasty, it usually comes from a place of jealousy and maybe they’re not doing very well in life right now, so they need to release that somewhere. Keyboard warriors choose to do that online,” she is quoted as saying.
This year’s Miss Grand International was scheduled for October in Myanmar. However, the pageant’s organizers said on May 23 that the country will no longer host the competition due to the current conflict.
Mr Ratchaphol Chantaratim, a Thailand-based Miss Grand International representative, said that the new venue will be announced later. /TISG
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