Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, who received more than 30,000 likes for her tweet expressing support for transgender women, bared that she also received nasty messages for it.
Wurtzbach was one of the celebrities angered by the latest development with the Pemberton-Laude case.
In a surprise decision on September 7, President Rodrigo Duterte granted absolute pardon to United States Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton who was convicted of killing Jennifer Laude in 2014, therefore clearing him of charges and restoring his civil rights.
Wurtzbach joined the chorus of solidarity that called for justice for Laude through the hashtag #TransLivesMatter.
“Trans rights are human rights. PERIOD!” she said on September 8.
Trans rights are human rights. PERIOD! #TransLivesMatter
— Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (@PiaWurtzbach) September 7, 2020
Another hashtag #JusticeforJenniferLaude also dominated Twitterverse that day as advocates of LGBT rights and other critics expressed their dissent and disappointment over Duterte’s decision.
She later tweeted again, this time, about urging her followers to register to vote for the next national elections in 2022.
The beauty queen used the hashtags #MasMaramiTayo, #MagparehistroKa and #40MStrong that are part of an online campaign to encourage the youth, particularly the so-called Gen Z, to register.
“I will continue reminding everyone to register to vote. Dahil sigurado, maraming magpapabukas nito until the last minute. No more excuses (even for me) lahat tayo dapat registered na. Hindi enough na sa social media lang tayo naririnig,” she said.
In both tweets, there were several condescending remarks against her, saying she’s not educated enough to state such views.
Wurtzbach finally addressed them. She noted that she’s used to her bashers and critics by now because she had been receiving their comments even before she joined the prestigious competition five years ago.
“Pag bukas ko ng Twitter ko nagdagsaan nanaman yung mga bashers. Hahaha. Sanay na sanay na po ako sa ganito. Noon pa man ay binabash na ko, even before Miss U,” she said.
“I learned that you should never be afraid to speak your mind especially when you know it’s right,” she added.
Pag bukas ko ng Twitter ko nagdagsaan nanaman yung mga bashers. Hahaha. Sanay na sanay na po ako sa ganito. Noon pa man ay binabash na ko, even before Miss U.😊 I learned that you should never be afraid to speak your mind especially when you know it's right. 😊
— Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (@PiaWurtzbach) September 8, 2020
Wurtzbach was one of the celebrities who was previously known to have kept her distance from addressing national concerns on social media.
She recently started to speak out against the passage of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and joined the online call for the lawmakers to scrap the measure last June.
More than 20 petitions had been filed before the Supreme Court that challenged the constitutionality of this new counter-insurgency law.
Last June dubbed as Pride Month by the LGBT community, Wurtzbach and Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi expressed spoke out to express the group’s campaigns.
The former also voiced her opinion against cancel culture, which is described as a form of “group shaming.”
Moreover, Wurtzbach was also vocal in her support to her home network ABS-CBN, which radio, television and digital services were permanently shut down after lawmakers denied the media giant’s application for a fresh franchise.
