Miss Universe Canada, First Black Woman To Hold The Title Calls Out Online Racist Remarks
As the first ever Black woman to hold the Miss Universe Canada title 2020 recipient Nova Stevens, is calling out the racist remarks that she has received online.
On Tuesday (May 4), Stevens went on to her Instagram account to address all of the negative comments she has received.
“With all that has been going on in the world, 'black lives matter,' 'Asians are human,' you would think this would bring us together. Instead, it looks like some people are still stuck in their ignorant and racist ideologies,” Stevens wrote in a lengthy Instagram caption.
The 26-year-old Canadian beauty queen shared how she felt about some of the things that were said.
According to CTVNews, several comments in her IG photo were in Tagalog, the nation language of the Philippines.
“No one is saying you have to support all contestants, all we’re saying is that you support your delegate without bringing others down,” Stevens continued writing in her caption. “You don’t need to dim someone’s light in order for you to shine.”
She later updated her caption to make it clear that her response to the comments was “not a generalization” about her Filipino fanbase and that at the time she was unsure of what language the comments were in.
“In case it’s not clear. I don’t think all Filipinos are racist. That would be ridiculous to say,” Stevens said. “"Cheer for your girls with love and respect for the other delegates because they too are deserving of the 'Miss Universe' crown. Spread love not hate.”
In a follow-up Instagram post on Wednesday (May 5), Stevens shared another photo collage of positive comments that she had also received.
“Let's end things on a positive note. To my Filipino fans: I’m sorry if my previous post caused you any harm,” Stevens wrote in the caption. “My post wasn’t intended to incite more hate; rather shed light on the toxicity that sometimes hails from fans (from all over the world).”
On May 16, Stevens will represent Canada as the first Black woman to hold the title at the Miss Universe pageant.
