Critical Beauty

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino entrepreneur Maria Luisa Varela topped the 2023 Miss Planet International pageant in Cambodia on Jan. 29, capturing the crown in the competition that 2022 Binibining Pilipinas first runner-up Herlene Nicole Budol was supposed to participate in. Varela bested 13 other international contenders to inherit the title from Monique Best from South Africa in ceremonies staged at the Koh Pich Theater in the kingdom’s capital in Phnom Penh. The international competition caused quite a stir late last year when multiple delegates, including Budol, withdrew their participation. They had already arrived in the African nation’s capital of Kampala, and had already appeared in a few preliminary activities, when a looming cancellation put the contest on hold. The pageant originally scheduled a Nov. 19 coronation night, but tensions in Uganda caused by an Ebola outbreak prompted local organizers to postpone the competition Budol was not even supposed to join in the first pl

  Why did Philippines fail to place in Miss Universe 2022 after 12 years of successive placements? This is an excerpt of a two-hour group chat conducted via Zoom on January 21, 2023. You can watch the entire chat here: https://youtu.be/3Lv_SscszVA

  Brian Javier and Noemi Melendez attended the Miss Universe 2022 show in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this excerpt, they give the lowdown on the show, such as the chaos and the disorganization revolving around the show, the shabby treatment that Brian received from MUO security staff, and how bad New Orleans was. You can watch the entire chat (over 2 hours long) here: https://youtu.be/3Lv_SscszVA

  Has Miss Universe become anti-men? Guest and pageant analyst Brian Javier seems to think that the pageant’s “women empowerment” movement is alienating men to the point of excluding them. This video is an excerpt of a two-hour group chat which you can seen in its entirety here: https://youtu.be/3Lv_SscszVA

This group chat was conducted via Zoom on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 9:00 PM EST. My guests include Peter Sereno, Noemi Melendez, Sabrina Solomon, Hector Joaquin, George of The Pageant Empress, and Brian Javier. We discuss the results of the Miss Universe 2022 finals held in New Orleans on January 14, 2023.  

In this vlog, I do a brief review and recap of the 71st edition of Miss Universe which was held on January 14, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

  This is an excerpt of a two-hour chat that I had with Antonio Rivadeneira on the results of Miss Universe 2022 finals held last January 14 in New Orleans. Antonio and I discuss the possible reasons as to why the four Southeast Asian countries (Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam) who usually do well in Miss Universe did not place in the 71st edition of the pageant. You can watch the entire chat here: https://youtu.be/rQwg7WnIbV4

  NEW ORLEANS — R'Bonney Gabriel, a fashion designer, model and sewing instructor from Texas who competition officials said is the first Filipino American to win Miss USA, was crowned Miss Universe on Saturday night. Gabriel closed her eyes and clasped hands with runner-up Miss Venezuela, Amanda Dudamel, at the moment of the dramatic reveal of the winner, then beamed after her name was announced. Thumping music rang out, and she was handed a bouquet of flowers, draped in the winner's sash and crowned with a tiara onstage at the 71st Miss Universe Competition, held in New Orleans. The second runner-up was Miss Dominican Republic, Andreina Martinez. In the Q&A at the last stage of the competition for the three finalists, Gabriel was asked how she would work to demonstrate Miss Universe is "an empowering and progressive organization" if she were to win. "I would use it to be a transformational leader," she responded, citing her work using recycled materials

In this short video, I reveal my top 16 favorites for the Miss Universe 2022 crown. My list is based on the performance of the contestants during the preliminaries held on January 11. Let me know if my list matches yours! Comment below. The finals will take place on January 14, 2023 in New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.  

I do a live reaction to the national costume competition of Miss Universe 2022 held in New Orleans on January 11, 2023. Before the start of the show, I was chatting with viewers for a good amount of time and I totally missed most of the costumes. Then I realized the show had a different link, so I had to refresh my screen and click on the new link. The first costume I saw was that of Portugal. LOL Anyway, here's the link to the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_DuC...  

I do a live reaction to the preliminary swimsuit and evening gown competition of Miss Universe 2022 contest held in New Orleans on January 11, 2023. You can also watch my reaction to the national costume show even though I missed most of it because I was responding to the viewers’ comments. Lol. https://youtu.be/fiJc-LHj4GY  

  This excerpt is from the lengthy group chat that took place on January 6, 2022 at 9:00 PM EST via Zoom. My guests and I reveal our respective top 5 and winner for the Miss Universe 2022 crown. You can watch the full chat here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDdsHbI5Rg4&t=2884s

  This excerpt is from the lengthy group chat that took place on January 6, 2023 starting at 9:00 PM EST via Zoom. My guests and I each reveal our respective top 15 favorites for the Miss Universe 2022 crown. You can watch the full chat here: https://youtu.be/YDdsHbI5Rg4

During a group chat that took place on January 6, 2023, guest vlogger Brian Javier, who is covering the Miss Universe 2022 competition in New Orleans, reveals how he was mistreated by the Miss Universe Organization. He also felt slighted by the current titleholder, Harnaaz Sandhu. On a brighter note, the new MUO owner Anne JKN shows up to say hello!  

  This group chat took place on Friday, January 6, 2023 at 9:00 PM EST. My guests include Peter Sereno, Gaspar Cruz, Noemi Melendez, Hector Joaquin, Rocky Graziano, and briefly, Brian Javier. We discuss about the changes under the new ownership and reveal our top 20, top 10, top 5 and winner!

And the winner is... Miss Transformational. Runners-up include Miss Take Up Space and Miss Mental Awareness.          2022 pageantry was characterized by transformations starting with new ownership of the Miss Universe Organization. For the first time in its 71-year history, MUO is no longer owned by an American but by a foreigner - a Thai entrepreneur who happens to be a transwoman. Dramatic scandals afflicted the Miss USA system which led to director Crystle Stewart being suspended and her husband Max Sebrechts being fired from his post. This was followed by Miss USA contestants who took up space on their social media to question the official results. The death by suicide of Cheslie Kryst traumatized the pageant industry and mental health all of a sudden became everyone's buzz word. Miss World learned a hard lesson not to do business with friends. The Covid-19 pandemic seemed to have dissipated, which allowed Miss International to stage its 60th edition in December after three y