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Miss Cuba counters claims of harassment in Miss Earth: You can say no, move on
Another beauty queen is speaking up about a Miss Earth sponsor allegedly propositioning candidates in exchange for the crown, this time in defense of the team managers who chaperoned them during the pre-pageant activities.
Miss Earth Cuba Monica Aguilar on Thursday made a sweeping declaration that she can "confirm there was no sexual harassment happening in any shape or form."
READ: Miss Earth Canada says she was sexually harassed during pageant
"Yes, some sponsors did ask us if we wanted to extend our visas to go to Boracay after the pageant, but no one was promised to get us further in the competition through 'sexual favors,'" Aguilar said.
She argued that an "invitation to Boracay" is not a sexual harassment and focused on the fact that they had the freedom to decline the offer.
"All you can do is say no, thank you, and move on with your life!" she asserted.
"No matter where you go in life, these types of things happen, but it is your responsibility to say no and walk away."
Aguilar said that after she declined the offer, the sponsor stopped bothering her.
The Cuban beauty queen believes that the behavior of the sponsor should not be blamed on the team managers, who she said made her feel safe throughout the competition.
"They even made sure we had police escorts to go to the bathroom!"
Regarding their passports being surrendered to the team managers, Aguilar said that it was done for their convenience as they had to fly to several locations.
The official Instagram of Miss Earth left a comment on Aguilar's post commending her for "handling the situation like a true queen."
However, her fellow queen Miss Earth Tonga Maria 'Otulau 'Aholelei in the comments section said that Aguilar cannot speak for everyone.
The Tongan beauty queen said that she did not experience sexual harassment during the competition, but she stands with the Miss Canada Jamie VanderBerg, Miss England Abbey-Anne Gyles-Brown, and Miss Guam Emma Sheedy.
"Please don’t sit there and 100% guarantee the whole world that this year’s Miss Earth candidates did not experience sexual harassment in any shape or form because you don’t know that for sure," 'Aholelei said.
"I respect you and your opinions but your statement is showing how little faith you have towards the other delegates and their experience in the journey. It has been repeatedly said by them that they sat down and talked with the organisation and [Team Managers] but still nothing was down until it was too late."
RELATED: Miss Earth England, Miss Earth Guam share sexual harassment experiences during pageant
She added, "You may not have experienced it this year but think about your representative for next year and the future years they might experience what you didn’t experience as 'Sexual Harassment' that’s all I’m going to say to end this. Have a good day and hope you are more open minded to this situation.'
Representatives from the production group behind Miss Earth refuted some of the claims made by VanderBerg, Gyles-Brown, and Sheedy.
GMA News Online has reached out to Carousel Productions for further comments. — LA, GMA News
