EXCLUSIVE: Catriona Gray on her bashers: 'I didn't pay them any mind'
One important factor that helped Catriona Gray get through her Miss Universe journey was her positive mindset.
In an exclusive phone interview with GMANetwork.com, Catriona admits that keeping her focus throughout the Miss Universe competition was a conscious and continuous effort on her part.
But keeping such kind of mindset was no walk in the park. Catriona was aware of what people were saying about her, both the positive and the negative.
“Yes, there are many, many, many supporters, pero siyempre naman there were people who have negative things to say, so I really wanted to keep my mindset in a very positive light."
Catriona knew of the time bashers feasted on her orange swimsuit photo--the one taken on a beach in Pattaya, a resort city south of the capital and the second most visited city in Thailand, next to Bangkok.
It was the first time the Miss Universe candidates were photographed in their swimsuit. Bashers were quick to mock Catriona, saying that she didn't have the "Miss Universe body" and that she paled in comparison with the other front-runners.
The queen--the fourth Filipina to win the coveted Miss Universe crown--now just laughs it off.
"Well, you know, it happens,” she tells GMA Network with a chuckle.
Catriona, after all, is no stranger to body shaming. Her body had been the target of criticism (and at times ridicule among pageant fanatics) ever since she competed at Binibining Pilipinas 2018.
"I honestly didn't pay them any mind," she says of the body shaming that she received back then.
"You know, there is no such thing as a perfect figure and I think having unrealistic expectations on women is not right.
"We should cultivate an environment on social media especially on beauty pageants to see women not just as bodies, or not just perfect proportions that people perceive.
"We are so much more than that and I think that's exactly what Miss Universe stands for."
Instead of feeling down, Catriona chose to handle all the body shaming the way a true Miss Universe winner does: with so much grace and poise.
"And I never let it get me down. I never let it define me.
"It's really just about knowing your confidence, knowing your worth. Yeah, it didn't bother me at all."
Catriona has long realized that a basher's baseless opinion bears no weight.
"These people don't know me, and if they're going to define me by my looks, then I don't wanna know them.”
WATCH: Catriona Gray's message to her bashers
Catriona offers a piece of advice to those who have been on the receiving end of unfair criticism and mockery.
"You just need to build yourself up. If you constantly source your worth from social media, from what people say, you'll never find that worth within yourself.
“And what a sad thing that you would allow strangers to define who you are and what you're capable of.”
Catriona has been very good at handling criticism, alright. But the queen is still not bullet-proof. There are times that the bashing does get to her.
"I really am learning and have learned to source my worth from me. That way, no one can take that away from me. It will never fluctuate, or it will never be affected by any comment on social media.
"Yes, it might get to me sometimes. But at the end of the day, I know that my worth isn't defined by those people. It shouldn't be."