Michele Gumabao addresses issues hounding her on social media after Miss Universe Philippines pageant

"Not to wear a crown of jewels but maybe to wear a crown of thorns."

This is how Michele Gumabao described her purpose in the aftermath of the Miss Universe Philippines 2020 pageant, in which she finished second runner-up.

In a 25-minute YouTube video, the volleyball star addressed the issues which circulated on social media after the coronation night.

"Early in the morning of the 25th, at around 3 am, and I heard things that I wasn't supposed to hear and it hurt," she said. "I must admit I went back to my room and I cried so hard."

"Everything that I've been hearing for the past two days just came rushing in my head and I was heartbroken, I was devastated that night," she added.

Michele said she considered going home to Manila, but she remembered her purpose thanks to a conversation with fellow candidate.

She was able to muster enough courage to perform one last time and finish the pageant, but she got overwhelmed after the results allegedly leaked online and people started asking questions.

"Everything just came crashing down on me and I couldn't handle, I admit I wasn't strong enough to handle that at that moment," she said. "I knew I was gonna break down, I knew I was gonna cry, and I didn't want to do that in front of the cameras."

"They tried so hard to get a breakdown off of me in the past and it never worked. And I told them that I will not give them the satisfaction," she added.

Michele said she told the production that she wanted to leave, but they did not give her the go signal because they were still filming and must take pictures.

"I said, 'Can we just do it now?' and they said that they couldn't. And I said I'm sorry that I had to leave and I left," she said.

Michele said she went back to her room to get her things and sent a text message to Jonas Gaffud, the creative and events director of Miss Universe Philippines.

"I told him my reason, I told him that I was leaving, and I told him everything," she said.

Michele said Gaffud was worried about what people would think of her departure, but she assured him that she will handle it.

"I sent a message to our winner, and I congratulated her and I told her the reason why I'm leaving and she replied, 'Thank you.' And after that I thought everything was ok," she said.

Social media, however, had other ideas and was rife with speculation about her absence from a Top 5 photo, which began circulating online.

"What saddens me the most is that when people were making issues about me leaving and not being part of that photo, the organization knew why," she said. "They knew my reasons, they knew I left, but they never said anything. They kept quiet."

"And now so many stories are circulating, so many issues are circulating and I told myself that I have to speak up, I have to defend myself, I have to fight for myself because I knew nobody would," she added.

Michele also reminded everyone to stop bashing and stop spreading lies and negativity.

"It doesn't mean that even though we are free to speak our hearts and minds and share our passions about a certain topic, that it is ok to bring and take people down just because we feel bad," she said.

Michele said everyone who has access to a social media platform is accountable for what they say online and that they should use it to empower and not silence others.

"It's not just crowns that we should be fixing. We should be fixing society, because we can. We should be fixing systems, because we can. We should be fixing social issues, because we can. We should fixing the future, because we can," she said. —MGP, GMA News