Pia Wurtzbach, refreshing and genuine
Pia Wurtzbach, refreshing and genuine
From left: Norma Carpio, Congen Rosalita Prospero, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Universe Canada Paola Nunez Valdez, ABS-CBN TFC’s Rosary Escano and Rachelle Cruz.
PHOTOS: Mark Anthony Damaolao (Goody Cambay team)
EXPERIENCING MISS UNIVERSE 2015 IN TORONTO
By Rachelle Cruz
There were two things the media weren’t allowed to ask: Don’t ask about the Steve Harvey kerfuffle. And don’t ask about her opinion on Manny Pacquiao’s divisive comments regarding the LGBT community that went viral, stirring controversy and sending shock waves across the globe. Perfect I thought, considering both issues have been widely covered in the media.
For the first time, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, visited Toronto on February 29 to deliver her Anti-Bullying Talk at the Toronto Reference Library. I covered the talk for ABS-CBN’s Balitang America. The speakers forum went live stream on TFC IPTV Video on demand (US and Canada) and globally on TFC.tv as well. Wurtzbach talked to 100 students of the International Language Academy of Canada about how she was bullied as a young actress growing up in the Philippines, and even while she worked in England,
“I experience bullying in different forms. I experienced it in school, I felt like I was the odd one out growing up in the province because I was half-Filipino and half German, so I wasn’t full blooded Filipina and of course I was the tallest in my class and I felt kind of awkward, I went through an awkward phase and even when I was an actress, there was a lot of scrutiny there as well…” she said.
Pia Wurtzbach (centre) with fans.
She admitted that even though she holds the Miss Universe title, she isn’t immune to cyber bullying. She gets it by the thousands. Still, she says she doesn’t need to tolerate it. And that’s why she is speaking up against it, “What we need here and the rest of the world is a change of values. To accept our differences. That is a fact of life. and the more we become accepting, the more we become tolerant. And the more we care. And speaking of care, we need a strong support system,” she expressed.
Sure you may think she has memorized feel-good well-meant cliches – but the real difference was, she’s surprisingly refreshing and genuine. It was easy to see why she won the title, although she didn’t easily win the title. Wurtzbach took three attempts at Binibining Pilipinas to bring home the third Miss Universe crown for the Philippines. Even in the coronation night, it wasn’t exactly – well you know what happened.
This Cagayan De Oro Native didn’t just win our hearts because she wears the crown, nor because she brought pride to the Philippines. She wowed the audience because she talked about her real struggles, trials and challenges growing up, being the sole breadwinner for her family since the age of 11, and working hard to get to achieve her dreams. One of the students had asked, “What’s your beauty secret?”
Wurtzbach responded and talked about staying fit, eating a healthy diet, and adds, “It doesn’t hurt to be kind.”
Her crowning glory may have lasted just a few minutes, and she may have a long year ahead of her to see places, meet people, and learn more about herself and the world (or the Universe for that matter), but that good head on her shoulders that you see everywhere nowadays…has been in the making for years.
To watch the full story on Balitang America, visit http://www.balitangamerica.tv/pia-wurtzbach-i-experience-bullying-in-different-forms/
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