Old photos of Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Dee surfaced on TikTok and Twitter days after she won the competition.
Michelle bested 37 other candidates in the national pageant. She will represent the Philippines in the next edition of Miss Universe later this year.
She also took home the Best Evening Gown Award and other minor awards during the contest’s preliminaries.
RELATED: Gabbi Garcia congratulates ‘twin’ for winning Miss Universe Philippines 2023 crown | ‘We’re all sisters here’: Michelle Dee addresses fans throwing shade at her, Pauline Amelinckx
Days later, showbiz page The Scoop and showbiz-oriented website Fashion Pulis reported about supposedly old photos of Michelle that Filipino netizens managed to dig up online.
These throwback snapshots have circulated on TikTok and Twitter.
TikTok Scoop: MUPH Michelle Dee’s Boyish Looks Resurface on TikTok
— Fashion PULIS (@FashionPulis) May 18, 2023
These social media posts also prompted some Filipinos to speculate about Michelle’s gender preference
Interaksyon traced some of the photos to be still images of her first appearance on national television. She guested in an episode of “Minute to Win It,” a game show that aired on ABS-CBN in 2013.
The rest of the snapshots came from an old Twitter account with the handle @_Mddee.
The account appeared to be no longer active as of writing.
Michelle’s official Twitter handle is @michellemdee. It also has a blue verified check mark.
Amid the photos that resurfaced, the actress and model posted a rainbow flag emoji on her Instagram Stories and Twitter account on May 17.
The rainbow flag, also known as the pride flag, represents the LGBTQIA+ community.
🏳️🌈
— mmd (@michellemdee) May 17, 2023
Michelle has yet to post or release any further response about the speculations on her gender preference and her old photos.
Prior to joining the pageantry, the 28-year-old model is a promising actress under GMA-7. She’s currently part of the cast of “Mga Lihim ni Urduja,” an action fantasy series under the same network.
She is also the daughter of Miss International 1979 Melanie Marquez and former action star Derek Dee.