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Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray had a one-on-one interview with the multi-awarded Kapuso broadcast journalist Jessica Soho via 24 Oras where she was able to clarify her answer that was allegedly romanticizing poverty.

Catriona Gray

In their exclusive interview, Catriona further explained what she meant when she answered the question, “What is the most important lesson you've learned in your life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?”

She spoke about her experience in the slums of Tondo, Manila and other people misconstrued it as glamorizing the impoverished conditions of the people in the area.

Catriona said, “I was not romanticizing poverty. I'm not saying that it's beautiful there. So if you'll look at my answer in the context of looking at the first sentence, it does not romanticize poverty 'coz I started from that point. And you know there's nothing beautiful about poverty.”

“But in the people that you talk to, the teachers that I've met, the children who I've heard their stories, and the families who I have heard their stories, there's something beautiful about their spirit, their will, their determination and that's what I was referring to,” she continued.