Miss Earth USA denies insulting PHL on Facebook

Miss Earth USA 2011 Nicole Kelley has already denied that she insulted the Philippines, host of this year's pageant, in one of her Facebook updates three weeks ago, but her supposed remark still earned her condemnation from many Filipino netizens.   “I’m very disappointed about what was written as me, but it wasn't me. I was at a community center tour earlier when it was posted,” said Kelley in a video uploaded on Nov. 18 in the official Miss Earth Youtube channel.   A screengrab of the page bearing her alleged post is currently making the rounds of social networking sites.   In her video message, Kelley stressed that “it’s never okay to cyberbully anyone.”   “As Miss Earth contestants we should be appreciating each other and making each other happy instead of tearing each other down,” she said.     On her Facebook fan page, Kelley responded to criticisms by denying that she posted anything negative about the Philippines.   "I NEVER said ANYTHING in poor taste or negative about the Philippines, the [Filipino] people, or anything else I am being accused of!!! All I can offer is an apology that my Facebook account was hacked and to say that I had no internet access on those few days and that Carousel [Productions] supports me that it was not me making these comments. Cyberbullying is INEXCUSABLE and anyone who participates will be reported to Facebook!!!"   In a comment to the video posted on Wednesday, Miss Earth organizers said when the screengrab of the Facebook page first appeared in November, they immediately confronted Kelley about it, prompting her to record the video response.   The organizers encouraged Filipinos to verify first accusations "before making any harsh comments."   Regardless of this, Filipinos still took to Facebook and Twitter to express their disappointment over Kelley’s alleged statement. In fact, “Miss Earth USA” became a trending topic on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, with some Filipinos even defending Kelley.

Seventy-seven delegates from around the world participated in the pageant. Miss Ecuador was crowned Miss Earth 2011 on the coronation night, held Dec. 3 at the UP Theater in Diliman, Quezon City. — KBK, GMA News