Mariel de Leon gives her two cents on Miss Earth scandal
16 Nov – Former Miss International-PH Mariel De Leon is expressing her support for her fellow beauty queens who recently accused a sponsor of Miss Earth of sexual harassment.
As reported on Inquirer, the "Ang Panday" actress recently took to Twitter to express her thoughts about the recent scandal, writing, "Sexual harassment in pageantry is real. Just like how it is in any field of work."
She also stressed that it is never okay to blame the victim.
"It doesn't matter what she is doing, where she is, what state she is in, and it especially doesn't matter what she is wearing. No is no," she added.
The scandal broke last week when three of Miss Earth contenders - Miss Earth-Guam Emma Mae Sheedy, Miss Earth-Canada Jaime VanderBerg and Miss Earth-England Abbey-Anne Gyles-Brown alleged that they were sexually harassed by a Filipino sponsor of the said pageant during a dinner at the Manila Yacht Club, with Sheedy naming the perpetrator as businessman Amado S. Cruz.
Organiser Carousel Productions Inc. also drew flak from many when the pageant queens revealed that Cruz was still at every event throughout the pageant despite him already being reported and the organisers' assurance that he will be banned from the events.
(Photo Source: Mariel De Leon Instagram)
