“I have a personal relationship with them.”
Beatrice Luigi Gomez, Miss Universe 2021 Top 5 finalist, stated this about her supporters while defending herself against an online user who perceived her to be distant from people.
The netizen expressed this view in the comments section of Miss Universe Philippines (MUP)’s Instagram post.
“Bea’s achievement and finishing top 5 was not [hyped] in the Philippines. This was because Bea was so detached from her supporters and fans. Bea was so unreachable. The Filipinos should have celebrated her finishing the Top 5,” the Instagram user said.
“Nevertheless, [the] Philippines is still proud of her until today,” the user also said.
Another Instagram user defended Beatrice from the criticism, saying that “true supporters and fans” would know better than to make such a remark about the Cebuana beauty queen.
“She [Beatrice Luigi Gomez] didn’t need to please people like you. If you wanna support, just support. Wag na yung madaming sinasabi,” the user said.
These exchanges, meanwhile, were made under MUP’s 2nd-anniversary greeting for Beatrice’s Top 5 placement at the 2021 Miss Universe pageant.
This was the highest rank the Philippines reached since Catriona Gray won the crown in 2018.
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Close supporters than fans
Beatrice later saw the comment of one of her supporters, prompting her to reply to it. She bared that the people she calls her supporters are “personally” close to her.
“I love my supporters and I know who they are and when they’re truly sincere. I would say I have a personal relationship with them at times,” she said.
Beatrice also noted that some of them even have her phone number, emphasizing that she’s “keen” on the people whom she interacts with.
“I guess I’m just keen on who interact with because some are just really critics who watch how you do things. They say they’re your ‘supporters’ only when you succeed but if you don’t, they have lots to say so yeah,” she said.
In a separate comment, Beatrice also emphasized that she is not after gaining fans.
“It is nice to have a lot of them but there isn’t much of a genuine relationship there and fans can be insatiable, and they can eat the life out of a celebrity,” she said.
The Cebuana beauty said that she would rather have a “supporter” than a “fan.”
“I would rather have a relationship with my supporters [whom] I can draw strength from and in return offer them the best of my every performance so that even in their absence, I am motivated knowing that I have them regardless of the outcome of my performance,” she said.
“That is how I protect my peace and keep my community close. We may only be a few but we are sustainable, lasting and strong,” Beatrice added.
Screenshots of Beatrice’s statements were later uploaded by pageant blogger Oyelle De Leon, who runs the pageant-centered blog, For the Philippines.
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Voltaire Tayag, MUP’s national director for communications, previously addressed queries on why Beatrice did not have a homecoming parade despite her finishing in the top 5 of the prestigious pageant.
Voltaire reminded Filipinos about Super Typhoon “Odette” that ravaged the Philippines after Miss Universe concluded in 2021.
“To put it simply, it was not what Bea and the MUPh Org wanted as it would have felt insensitive to those devastated by Typhoon Odette,” he said.
