Beauty queen Maria Isabela Galeria took to social media on Monday to address the public after being the subject of several memes and online jokes last weekend.
In this year’s Binibining Pilipinas held Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, the 20-year-old stunner representing her hometown Sorsogon went viral after a couple of netizens poked fun at her for letting host Anne Curtis hold the microphone for her during the entire duration of her Q&A turn in the pageant.
“OMG Miss Sorsogon, bakit si Anne Curtis pinahawak mo sa mic? Hahaha. Anyways, you’re so beautiful,” one netizen wrote.
“Sa lahat ng nag-Q and A, si Miss Sorsogon lang ang buong tapang na ginawang microphone holder si Anne Curtis. Nakapamewang siya with both hands the whole time,” said another.
Sure enough, the hilarious moment also made it to the noontime show It’s Showtime, where Anne and fellow TV host Vice Ganda gamely re-enacted the said Q&A turn, with the latter, of course, playing as Miss Sorsogon.
In light of the event, Maria Isabela, in a short statement on Instagram, clarified that it wasn’t her intention to insult the Multimedia Superstar.
“So today I woke up as a meme,” she wrote. “I honestly had no bad intentions towards [Anne Curtis]. I was just really nervous and was concentrating to answer the question being asked.”
“Anne is a superstar and was very kind, polite and gracious to all of us. It was a pleasure and inspiring to be in her presence,” she added.
For her part, the 34-year-old actress was quick to assure Maria Isabela that no offense was taken and, while at it, encouraged her to stop minding the memes.
She said, “Hey gorgeous! Don’t worry about it and don’t mind the memes. All of you were nervous and had to concentrate on one of the most crucial parts of the pageant – the Q &A.
“It was an honour to be of service to you and all the beautiful candidates. Ganyan lang talaga minsan. May mga kulit moments na hindi palalampasin ng Madlang People. Congratulations on your performance last night, [Maria]!”
Named as part of the Top 25, Maria was able to advance as far as the Top 15. She was ultimately bested by Miss Laguna Leren Mae Bautisa, who won Bb. Pilipinas-Globe, Miss Pampanga Emma Mary Tiglao as Bb. Pilipinas-Intercontinental, Miss Cebu City Samantha Asley Lo as Bb. Pilipinas-Grand International, Miss Maguindanao Resham Saeed as Bb. Pilipinas-Supranational, Miss Bataan Bea Patricia Magtanong as Bb. Pilipinas-International, and finally, Miss Talisay-Cebu Gazini Danados as the Miss Universe Philippines.