Miss Grand Thailand 2019 will apologize to Catriona Gray for fat-shaming under one condition

Coco Arayha tells PowerhousePH that she will apologize to the Filipina-Australian beauty queen only “if Cat will message [her] directly.” (File Photo: @coco.arayha/Instagram)

During the interview with the pageantry website, Coco refers to the post she had shared to her 117,000 followers with Miss Grand International 2018 Clara Sosa of Paraguay in a swimsuit being labelled “fit” and Catriona labelled as “fat.” The Thai beauty queen defends herself from criticism, explaining, “I shared the photo of Clara because I’m jealous of her body and want it. I shared the truth and everyone hates me for it. Even when I upload a pretty picture of myself, there’s a thousand angry comments,” adding, “I shared the truth. I know she’s Miss Universe, but the picture just says it all.”

Being crowned Miss Grand Thailand 2019 in Bangkok last Saturday, July 13, Coco also asks reporters, “I just won the crown. Can you not celebrate with me and be happy for me? I got the crown. Is not anyone happy for me at all?” She responds to criticism, stating, “If you had followed my journey since the beginning, you would see that the drama is another matter. My skills can’t be overlooked.”

A day after Coco was crowned, Catriona indirectly addressed the issue on Twitter, telling her followers, “Body shaming is hurtful and [should] never be tolerated. If anyone reading this too has been [body shamed], I know how it feels. I’m sorry you’ve had to experience that. But [know] that you are more than your appearance. You are a capable, unique, and worthy person. And you are never alone.”

She also received support from her fellow beauty queens, with Miss Universe Canada 2016 Siera Bearchell responding through a vlog on her YouTube channel, “If there are young women or just women in general who see these pictures of her (Catriona) and then they see that people are calling her fat, I cannot help but question and I know that some of these people question themselves,” concluding, “What would a young woman who may be struggling with her body image think if she saw a picture of Catriona and she saw that people are calling her fat?”

In the meantime, Binibining Pilipinas Grand International Philippines 2019 Samantha Lo was asked by a fan what she thought about Coco’s comments on Catriona, with Samantha responding, “She’s not invited to pizza night with Cat and I.”

Samantha will be facing Coco during the international competition in Venezuela this October.