Miss Universe Candidate Says Not to Generalize Filipino Pageant Fans After Receiving Racist Comments

May 7, 2021

Miss Universe Canada 2020 Nova Stevens took to social media to denounce racist remarks she has been receiving from Filipino users online.

Embattled queen: Stevens, Canada’s first Miss Universe candidate of Sudanese origin, wrote in an Instagram post that she has been targeted by people who are “still stuck in their ignorant and racist ideologies.”

“With all that has been going on in the world, ‘black lives matter,’ ‘Asians are human,’ you would think this would bring us together,” Stevens wrote.
Stevens did not single out Filipino fans but most of the comments highlighted in the post were written in Filipino.
Comments in the photos include “katakot” (scary), “hindi tao” (not human), and “tostadong tostado” (very toasted).
The 26-year-old model/activist urged pageant fans to not bring other candidates down just to support their delegates and called upon everyone to see the beauty in this world despite people’s differences.

Filipino allies respond: Fans from the Philippines soon came to rally behind Stevens and condemned their compatriots for the racist behavior, as the beauty queen highlighted in her follow-up post.

The positive comments included praises of the candidate’s beauty and wishes of good luck.
Stevens clarified that the intention of the first post was to “shed light on the toxicity that sometimes hails from fans (from all over the world),” noting that not all Filipinos are racists.
She then implored her audience to make it the last post about hate that any candidate has to post.
“I love you all. Sending you all lots of love and light❤️,” she ended the post.

Stevens, who has become a prominent activist for Black Lives Matter in Vancouver, is set to compete at Miss Universe 2020 on May 16, according to Rappler.

Featured image via Nova Stevens (left, right)

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