Ms. Earth 2018 contestants speak out about alleged sexual harassment during pageant

FILE: Miss Earth Canada Jaime VandenBerg: “I went through almost two weeks of sexual harassment before anything was done about it.” (Photo: Miss Earth/Facebook)

Miss Earth 2018 may have ended during the coronation night that occurred last Saturday, November 3, but talk about the pageant still continues as numerous contestants open up about their supposed horrific experiences encountering sexual harassment incidents by Amado S. Cruz, a restaurant owner associated with the Manila Yacht Club who sponsored the event.

Miss Earth Canada Jaime VandenBerg, Miss Earth Great Britain Abbey-Anne Gyles-Brown, and Miss Earth Guam Emma Mae Sheedy all express through posts on their social media accounts after the pageant concluded. All of them pointed to Cruz “taking all of the delegates to his yacht and having [them] take sultry photos” during a Manila Yacht Club event, “telling [the] girls he could take them to Boracay,” and “getting upset if [they] were not dancing with him.”

Jaime, who began the discussion, expressed how she “did not feel safe under [the organization’s] care.” She said she was “disgusted” how Cruz “showed up to almost all of the events telling [her] he could take care of [her] needs and asked for sexual favours in exchange to get [her] further in the pageant.” She also said, “I went through almost two weeks of sexual harassment before anything was done about it,” only receiving action after talking to the founder and executive vice president of Miss Earth 2018, Lorraine Schuck. 

British representative Abbey adds, “Myself and Canada approached Team Managers to express our disgust only to be laughed at.” She describes her generally pleasant stay in the Philippines, however, in her words, “But the other 50% [of my trip] was overshadowed by feeling exploited, vulnerable, unnerved, and sexually harassed as I was approached by a sponsor on many occasions who asked for sexual favors in exchange for the Crown.”

Miss Earth England Emma’s account reports, “From the moment the pageant started until coronation night, Cruz was at every event and dinner he could physically get to,” concluding, “Since other delegates have posted, multiple other queens from past years have come out about the same behaviour.”

Cruz has yet to comment about the situation, while the Miss Earth Organization posted an official statement on its Facebook page.