Imelda Schweighart sides with Gabriela: ‘Some use pageants to do prostitution’

Former Miss Earth Philippines titleholder Imelda Schweighart took to Facebook to ally herself with Gabriela after the party-list publicly condemned Miss Universe.

Recalling her time as a candidate in an unspecified pageant, Schweighart wrote on Thursday, "We were like meat waiting for our turn to strut our stuff just to surpass the segment."

"I cannot deny the look in these girls faces backstage and the act we have to put out there on stage," she continued. "It was the time where [I] realized it the most, when we went out for the audience and it was almost all men in a private setting show while we women felt so darn exploited like pigs being sold in the market."

The former beauty queen also claimed that "some are using pageants as an opportunity to do prostitution."

In their condemnation of the Miss Universe pageant, Gabriela also noted that, "Sex tourism with human trafficking and prostitution is one of the deplorable downstream trades that afflicts poor countries that host international events such as major beauty pageants."

Schweighart further stated that she does not want women to join pageants, even if it affords them a platform to speak their mind.

"Some [have] good intentions but the rest of what's happening inside and the delivery of message the unconscious mind performs isn't helping make this earth a better place. It becomes a selection of beautiful women," Schweighart concluded.

Schweighart represented the Philippines in the Miss Earth 2016 pageant.

She failed to bring home the crown and was forced to relinquish her the local title after a video of her seemingly insulting Miss Earth 2016 Katherine Espin went viral. — Aya Tantiangco/BM, GMA News