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Miss Universe Canada Organization apologizes to Michael Cinco, Rian Fernandez for gown controversies
The Miss Universe Canada (MUC) organization on Tuesday apologized to Filipino designers Michael Cinco and Rian Fernandez for the gown controversies that surfaced last weekend.
Cinco lashed out at the organization and their candidate Nova Stevens after her team allegedly blamed him over Stevens's loss at the recent beauty pageant. Fernandez then followed with his own experience working with them in 2016 and 2018.
In a statement posted on their Instagram account, the MUC said they were "deeply saddened to read the recent negative online comments" directed towards them, their candidate, and their third-party supporters.
"We strive to ensure our designer partners such as Michael Cinco and Rian Fernandez are always aware of our gratitude for their tremendous support. However, based on recent online statements others believe that we as an organization are not doing as well as we thought," the statement read.
"We will strive to do better going forward. We thank and appreciate our design partners tremendously for their ongoing support. We specifically want to apologise to Michael Cinco and Rian Fernandez for any damage these recent incidents have caused to them or to their brand," the MUC added.
The organization also explained their side regarding working with fashion designers.
"Like any organization in the pageant business, we enter into agreements with designers, in exchange for products we provide exposure and recognition to their brand," they said.
"We recognize the significant contribution they make, not only with beautiful couture gowns, but also financially with work hours, time and shipping costs that they absorb," they added.
The organization said, however, that they "do not commit to any specific design for any specific event" and instead collaborate "with the reigning MUC titleholder, and based on her input and comfortability in each outfit we decide which outfit to wear at which event."
"As a result of that, we are not able to wear all of the beautiful designs sent to us," they said.
The MUC organization also clarified their connection with Miss Universe Canada's team, who manages the schedule of their candidate and "sometimes work closely" with design partners to ensure their queen looks her best in events.
"While we rely heavily on the collaboration efforts of our third party supporters, it is important to recognize, they are not official representatives of the MUC organization; and while we respect their opinions, those opinions are not necessarily the opinions of the MUC organization," they said.
"If something is not published by the MUC organization directly, we ask that it not be considered an official statement from our organization," they added.
The organization said they have been receiving "thousands of online messages filled with hate, racism and death threats" along with their candidate and supporters "as a result of recent online comments."
They said this type of behavior is unacceptable.
"Nobody should be subjected to this level of cyber bullying, hate and violence," they said. "The MUC organization strongly objects to this level of abuse, and we refuse to partake in stooping to that level of ugliness."
In a lengthy post on Facebook last weekend, Cinco called Stevens, her team MGmode, and the MUC organization "ungrateful, vile and professional users" over their alleged insinuation that he sabotaged their candidate.
Stevens released her own statement on the controversy, saying she was hurt to have been caught up in it and also she also expressed gratitude to Michael. She later issued another statement explaining her side and apologizing on behalf of her team MGMode.
The beauty queen failed to get into the Top 21 of the 69th Miss Universe pageant which was held at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on May 16 (May 17 in Philippine time).
Following Cinco's post, Fernandez also called out MUC organization director Denis Martin Davila and urged him to "have a little shame" and stop his "swindler personality."
He shared the poor treatment he and his team received from the MUC Organization in the past and expressed support to Cinco and other Filipino designers.
—Jannielyn Bigtas/MGP, GMA News
