Businessman Chavit Singson believed that transgender and married women should not join Miss Universe.
Singson, who was one of the major sponsors of the 2016 Miss Universe held in the Philippines, said that while he was not against the LGBTQIA+ community and married women, he believed that there was a reason why the prestigious pageant was called “Miss Universe.”
“Kaya nga ‘Miss’ ang nakalagay sa Miss Universe beauty contest. Tapos hahaluan ng iba,” he said.
It can be recalled that Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz also insisted that the pageant should be exclusively for biological, unmarried women.
“Edi dapat, ‘Universe’ na lang, huwag nang ‘Miss.’ Kasi, hindi na ‘Miss’ yon, ‘di ba? Dapat ‘Universe,'” she said.
“My personal opinion—which is not to be taken in a negative way—dapat may sarili silang contest. May Mrs. Universe, may Lesbian Universe, may Transgender Universe,” she added.
It can be recalled that Miss Universe Organization owner Anne Jakrajutatip allowed transwomen and married women to join the competition.
However, Jakrajutatip received criticism after a blogger published a video showing her trying to justify her decision to allow transgender and married women to join Miss Universe, saying that they cannot win the competition anyway.
“Now that we changed the age limit, they can compete and come back again. This is a strategy because you understand that they can compete but they cannot win,” she reportedly said.