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R’Bonney Gabriel, the first Filipina American to win Miss USA, beat out 83 other contestants to be crowned Miss Universe on Saturday night in New Orleans, amid an investigation related to the pageant that sent her there.
The Miss Universe website called Gabriel “a voice for Asian-Americans” who “opens the door for more diversity and representation in society.”
Gabriel has spoken about her immigrant roots. “My dad moved to America from the Philippines on a college scholarship with about $20 in his pocket,” she said last year when she was crowned Miss USA, adding: “I’m a very proud Filipina American.”
The news made a splash in her father’s home country. The Philippine Star wrote about her background, while the Manila Times said Filipinos had been “rooting” for her after the nation’s own contestant did not make the finals.
At 28, Gabriel is at the top of the age limit set by the competition. “Delegates must be at least 18 years of age and under 28 years of age on the date the National competition commenced,” the official website reads.
When asked during the pageant what change she would make to the contest, she said she would raise the age limit. “I am 28 years old. And that is the oldest age to compete. And I think it’s a beautiful thing,” she said, according to CNN.
This year’s Miss Universe pageant allowed married women and mothers to compete for the first time in its 70-year history.
Once a surefire ratings magnet, the Miss Universe pageant has not had a berth on American network television for a few years. This year’s pageant was aired in the United States on the Roku Channel, a streaming service, and on Telemundo in Spanish.
Gabriel scored a contentious Miss USA victory in October, with competitors castigating her and accusing organizers of giving her special treatment. Miss Montana Heather O’Keefe said the pageant allowed Gabriel to contact sponsors in what would be “a violation of the contract.”
“The current allegations are based on perception, and not the truth,” Gabriel told The Washington Post in a statement provided by Miss USA at the time. “I would never want to enter a competition that was rigged.”
Miss Universe investigated the allegations. In a statement to state directors seen by The Post in October, the Miss USA group said its umbrella corporation, Miss Brands, was cooperating with investigators.
Nancy Schuster, director of talent and media relations at the Miss USA Organization, told The Post on Sunday that they do not yet have investigative results to share.
After prioritizing pieces of the investigation before Saturday’s contest, Miss Universe said that Gabriel “won fairly” and that “other aspects of the investigation remain ongoing.”
“For example, with respect to factors that gave rise to the perception of favoritism, the investigation is ongoing and we are in the process of diligently addressing such matters,” Miss Universe told The Post in an emailed statement Sunday.
Other Miss USA contestants said they had been “muted” and “ignored” during the investigation. In a statement posted to Instagram on Jan. 5 and signed “Miss USA Class of 2022,” they said that they were waiting for results.
“While we wish Gabriel the best of luck at Miss Universe, we cannot support an organization that claims to be built upon integrity, honesty, transparency, and women’s empowerment when they have done nothing but sweep scandals under the rug, silence the very women they claim to empower, and conduct themselves in such an unprofessional manner.”
Gabriel, a Houston native, is the chief executive of a clothing line, R’Bonney Nola, which says it specializes in “practicing sustainable design methods and using repurposed/natural fabrics.” She earned her bachelor’s degree in fashion design from the University of North Texas.
Last week, Gabriel walked onstage at the Miss Universe competition’s costume show wearing a NASA-inspired outfit, which featured thigh-high metallic boots, a moonlike headpiece and wings made of silver stars. It was created by Filipino designer Patrick Isorena, according to Philippine media.
Isorena wrote on Instagram that the costume weighed about 30 pounds.
The costume show is a chance for candidates to show off their cultural heritage and to honor their home countries. But Gabriel’s ensemble drew backlash on social media, where some said it suggested that the United States was laying claim to the moon.
“You know what’s American? the moon!” one Twitter user said in response to the outfit. “The United States of America, a country known for restraint and modesty,” the user quipped.
Explaining her costume choice on Instagram, Gabriel said that, as a native of Houston, where NASA’s Johnson Space Center is located, she was “proud to be from a city working to send the first female to the moon.”
“On July 20, 1969 two US astronauts became the first humans to step foot on the moon accomplishing one of the most remarkable achievements in human history,” she wrote. “Fast forward to today and women are involved more than ever in the Artemis program aiming to send the US back to the moon.”
NASA is several years into the Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon in a series of missions, the first since Apollo in the 1960s and ’70s. The program has promised to include an astronaut of color and a woman on its missions this time around.
In New Orleans on Saturday, the first runner-up in the Miss Universe competition was Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel, and the second runner-up was Miss Dominican Republic Andreína Martínez.
An earlier version of this report said designer Patrick Isorena’s NASA-inspired costumed weighed 14 pounds. It weighed 14 kilograms, according to Isorena’s Instagram post, which would be about 30 pounds.
R’Bonney Gabriel, first Filipina American Miss USA, crowned Miss … – The Washington Post
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