Miss Earth USA, pinabulaanan ang umano'y paninira niya sa Pilipinas

Pinabulaan ni Nicole Lynn Kelley, Miss Earth 2011 contestant ng USA, ang kumakalat sa Internet na umano'y paninira niya sa Pilipinas at sa mga Filipino. Upang linawin ang kumakalat na tsismis, naglabas si Kelley ng isang video blog sa opisyal na Youtube account ng Miss Earth organization nitong Nobyembre 19, kung saan nakasaad ang kanyang panig. Aniya, "I wanted to address what [I] heard earlier, which was brought to my attention and I'm very disappointed what was written as me but wasn't me. I was at a community center tour earlier when it was posted."

Kumalat sa Internet ang umano'y isang screenshot sa status message ni Kelley na naglalaman ng ilang mapanirang komento tungkol sa Pilipinas. Noong Nobyembre 18, dumating ang mahigit 77 kinatawan ng bawat bansa para sa Miss Earth 2011 at nanatili dito ng dalawang linggo upang libutin ang Pilipinas bago pa man ang coronation night noong Disyembre 3. Inihayag ng mga Pilipino ang kanilang pagkadismaya kay Miss Kelley sa ilang social networking sites. As of 2:30 p.m. nitong Miyerkules, nakapasok sa isa mga Twitter trending topic sa Pilipinas ang "Miss Earth USA." Wala ding tigil ang pagkomento ng mga Pinoy sa Facebook fan page ni Kelley. It's sad how some of the Filipinos here are saying there's nothing wrong with Ms USA expressing how she feels about our country. The point is,when a country accommodates you, at the very least you should avoid insulting its people. — Lourez Lialette Melgar Maquinto via Facebook Your comments about the Philippines are unbecoming of a so-called beauty queen!!! A beauty queen should exude love, grace and character which are the opposite of what you were relaying in your message! Filipinos are the friendliest and most hospitable people that's probably why they showed affection by touching you. Its good you didn't win because you didn"t deserve to — Jonna Vitug via Facebook Really? Are people really this gullible to believe that she could actually post something like this? Please use common sense: she is simply not dumb enough to post such a public comment that would surely enrage an entire country. You're ashamed of her? I'm ashamed of people who believe any story they hear...and here's the kicker...ON THE INTERNET. WOW. Welcome to the virtual landscape of easy fabrication via photoshop, hacks, and fake users. People who actually believed those were her words are newbie Internet users who don't have enough common sense to tell if a post would truly be fake or not, simple as that. Use common sense. Don't believe everything you see, ESPECIALLY ON THE INTERNET. Posts made by celebrities should and MUST be taken with a grain of salt. Wow.  — Jon Halili via Facebook Samantala, may ilan Pilipinong sumang-ayon sa inihayag umano ni Miss Earth 2011 USA. What ms. earth USA [has] said is just the things that she saw in our country... i think it's just a wake-up call to all of us, Filipinos, to do something in making our country less polluted... maybe not as clean as what they have in the USA, but at least we should try to do some simple acts like throwing our candy wrappers in the right place... yes it is true that what she have said is really mean and very unprofessional since she is the representative for ms. earth... we were hurt because she said it unprofessionally and even broadcast it here... besides, she's not the only one who said something like this about our beloved country... let's just take it as a challenge and do something to beat this challenge... let us prove to them that the Philippines is a country worth fighting for... I'm proud to be a Filipino, and I'm proud of our country... — Emel Palaganas Ramin via Facebook Tayong mga PILIPINO we take her sentiments bad because of our arrogance. Her comments are the sad truth. — hanzobunsoy via Youtube Sagot ni Kelley Sa pamamagitan ng isang YouTube video na naka-post sa Miss Earth 2011 site, inilahad ni Kelley ang kanyang panig sa pagsasabing hindi siya yung nasa mapanirang post sa Facebook. Sinabi rin niyang masaya siyang makarating sa Pilipinas. Aniya: "I arrived... safely to a very warm welcome and I'm very appreciative of that. And I'm so happy to be here to meet all the girls and we are staying at the fantastic Oakwood Joy-Nostalg Center Manila and it is absolutely beautiful." Nagbigay-mensahe rin siya sa mga kapwa niyang contestant. Aniya, "But I want to make it clear that it's never okay to cyberbully anyone and as Miss Earth contestants, we should be appreciating each other and making each other happy instead of tearing each other down and I want to see from now on from everyone, the girls, the public included a better comraderie and a positive outlook and no matter what happens at the end of the day, we are all representatives and we are all responsible for what happens to this planet. Thank you so much and I can't wait to see what happens and experience the rest of this trip." Samantala, naglabas din ng pahayag ang Miss Earth organization tungkol sa isyu kalakip sa video ni Kelley. Aniya, "This video was posted last November 19, 2011 (Manila) after the allegation of the Facebook page was made. We have confronted Ms. Kelley immediately and it was resolved right then and there. Thus, we asked her to make this video on a computer." Dagdag pa nito, "The photo began circulating today, almost 3 weeks later and this video explains her side. We are proud of the Filipinos and encourage everyone to be verify first before making any harsh comments." Kinoronahan bilang Miss Earth 2011 nitong Disyembre 3, 2011 si Miss Ecuador Olga Alava sa UP Theater sa Diliman, Quezon City. — with A.M. Marzoña /LBG, GMA News