Miss Earth 2020, Lindsey Marie Coffey of the USA

Lindsey Marie Coffey of the US was named Miss Earth 2020 at the 20th edition of the Miss Earth pageant. Standing tall at 5’10”, the 28 year-old Lindsey is the first American to win the Miss Earth title after a series of bridesmaid placements in the recent several editions of the pageant.

With Lindsey winning Miss Earth, the US becomes the 5th country to have won all 4 biggest international pageants: Miss Earth, Miss International, Miss Universe and Miss World. It also pushed up the rank of the United States to #2 with 15 wins, tied with the Philippines with number of wins… but with the US having 60 runner-up wins versus the Philippines’ 23 runner up placements, the US takes the 2nd place after Venezuela whose 23 crowns & 44 runner up placements is unbeatable.

THE WINNERS

The 2020 court of queens are :
Miss Earth 2020 – USA, Lindsey Coffey
Miss Earth-Air – Venezuela, Stephany Zreik
Miss Earth-Water – Philippines, Roxanne Baeyens
Miss Earth-Fire – Denmark, Michala Rubinstein

The Miss Earth 2020 queen and her court…

TOP 8 (alphabetical order)
Myanmar – Amara Shune Lei
Netherlands – Tessa le Conge
Poland – Sabina Półtawska
Puerto Rico – Krystal Badillo

Top 20 (alphabetical order)
Belarus – Mariia Reznyuk
Costa Rica – Kelly Ávila
Cote d’Ivoire – Aya Kadjo
Germany – Annabella Fleck
Japan – Anna Tode
Kenya – Fridah Kariuki
Nigeria – Gwenivere Chioma Ifeanyieze
Panama – Anayansi De Gracia
Portugal – Ivanna Rohashko
Singapore – Christina Cai
South Africa – Lungo Katete
Thailand – Teeyapar Sretsirisuvarna

The pageant was attended by 84 entrants from around the globe through online activities and a virtual coronation night.  The candidates were split into four continental groups: Asia & Oceania, Africa, Americas, and Europe and then competed in the following categories: Earth Talk, Talent, Evening Gown, Swimsuit, Sports Wear, National Costume, and Interview

Miss Earth 2020, Lindsey Marie Coffey

SASHES&SCRIPTS’ SHORT-TAKE

Lindsey’s win is remarkable because of 3 reasons:

1. USA makes the 5th country to win all 4 biggest international pageants after Brazil, Venezuela, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. This marks the US’ first win after a series of runner-up placements in Miss Earth (Emanii Davis, Corrin Stellakis, Brittany Payne and Andrea Neu) over the past 10 years.
2. This year has been marked with multiple surprise wins from underdogs of several national pageants. Lindsey’s victory was the first major win of a frontrunner among pageants of 2020.
3. The Miss Earth 2020 pageant was the first of the Alpha pageants to hold a virtual  pageant as response to the on-going global Covid-19 pandemic. While it may have been unconventional, it allowed ME pageant fans to have more access to the queens through social media. After the successful staging of the virtual pageant, it only proves that it is possible to have an online pageant albeit some major adjustments on expectations how it is staged and held.

With rumors that should face-to-face meetings are possible next year, we are hoping that all 4 winners be given the chance to be crowned live to truly give them the “winning experience”.

Why Lupita Jones Must Resign

The latest controversy to rock pageantlandia is the accuses-laden live video and the succeeding apology of Mexicana Universal National Director, Lupita Jones to Sofia Aragon. This falling out between the two Mexican queens have been largely discussed and talked about by pageant fans in and outside Mexico.

In our experience it is the pageant girls and crowned queens that usually  has some gripe with their national directors, however this is the first time that we have seen a national director behave untowardly toward her own ward and past queens. This is also the first time we have seen a national director speak ill of her reigning queen in front of the current set of competitors of the national pageant. That in itself is a reason to take this matter seriously.

THE CONTROVERSY

The controversy started after 2019 Miss Universe 2nd runner up and reigning Mexicana Universal winner Sofia Aragon revealed in an Instagram Live Chat that she wasn’t allowed by Lupita Jones to crown her successor. This stemmed allegedly with Sofia’s contract signing with a rival television channel to that of Mexicana Universal. Sofia revealed that Lupita blocked her on social media and didn’t received the totality of all her promised prize. She also alleged that she paid for all her preparations for Miss Universe with the help of TV Azteca.

Sofia’s move didn’t sit well with the former Miss Universe winner and in front of current Mexicana Universal candidates hurled insults and accusations against Sofia and former wards. Lupita called her fake, ingrate and two-faced. She added that she also paid for Sofia’s nose job, liposuction and teeth; helped her get the TEDX  Talk gig and publish her book; and that Sofia is always out of mood in her MxU activities because she suffers from depression. She also have made accusation that several of her former queens were liars, drug addicts, and sl*ts. After getting numerous negative feedback from fans, Lupita released a recorded apology to Sofia.

Even after Lupita’s apology video, do you think it is still acceptable to have a national director being a bully to her own winner?

OUR THOUGHTS

It is not new to hear Lupita having issues with her queens so this is nothing new. In the past we have heard her having problems with Ximena Navarrete, Cynthia Duque, Josselyn Garciglia, Cynthia Dela Vega, Nebai Torres and Denisse Franco. We may have allowed this type of behaviour in the past but nowadays, we take a serious stand against bullying of queens. We believe it is time for Lupita to step down from her position and the franchise be given to someone new. With the things she had said, it is enough reason for her to be removed from her post.

We also felt that her apology was devoid of sincerity and that she was doing this to save face for her organization. It looked as if she was just reading from a teleprompter and was devoid of any remorse or emotion as she was delivering her ‘spiel’. If in the past, fans may have allowed her diva-ish behaviour the former Miss Universe has crossed over the line this time. And if she has what we call as ‘delicadeza’ then she would step down from her post willingly and quietly.

Pageant Hot-Picks Are No Longer Relevant

Over the past several months, our Sashes & Scripts followers have increasingly noticed that we no longer do pageant hot-picks anymore. That is simply because we believe that they have now become irrelevant and obsolete.

Here are our reasons why…

WHY PAGEANT HOT-PICKS ARE OBSOLETE AND IRRELEVANT

One of our reasons why we no longer believe in pageant hot-picks is because it is a convenient but lazy way of having people talk about a pageant page. We believe it is an uninspired way of garnering social media engagements and usually based on popularity not really a gauge to see how pageant girls stack up in the competition. In fact in most cases, they are jumbled up to give a sense of movement in their ‘arbitrary rankings’.

Donation Drives for Victims of Flooding in Cagayan and Isabela

Today, we are taking a break from posting pageantry-related post in our blog. Instead we are urging you to help via the following donation drives for victims of the floods and devastation caused by the recent typhoons Rolly, Siony, Tonyo and Ulysses in the Philippines.

Any amount would be of great help to the victims who lost homes, livehoods, and loved ones.

Our Bangon Luzon relief drive, in partnership with the Office of VP Leni Robredo, will embark on relief operations to the communities affected by Typhoons #RollyPH and #UlyssesPH.

For those who want to help our fellow Filipinos, kindly read the details in the pub mat or go to kayanatin.ph/donate

For inquiries, you can contact us at 0948 189 6875 or email us at kayanatinmovement@gmail.com

#ReliefPH

It only takes a few minutes to help those affected by #UlyssesPH though #LazadaForGood. Just click lzd.co/LazadaForGood to donate to our advocacy partners ABS-CBN Foundation, Caritas Manila, Kaya Natin, Project Pearls, UNICEF, and World Vision.

Your contribution for food, shelter, and hygiene kits will go a long way! 💙

Matapos ang matinding hagupit ng bagyong #UlyssesPH, ang Shopee Bayanihan ay bukas para makalikom ng tulong para sa ating mga kababayang higit na naapektuhan at nasalanta ng bagyo.

Maaring mag-donate sa mga organisasyong ito:

Philippine Red Cross - https://shopee.ph/philredcross

Habitat for Humanity - https://shopee.ph/habitatphils

Kaya Natin Movement - https://shopee.ph/kayanatinmovement

#ShopeeBayanihan
#ShopeePH

From Quinta, Rolly, Siony, Tonyo, to Ulysses - the same areas continue to be battered by typhoons, one after another.

Our Kapamilyas are in urgent need of our help.

Dahil sa pananalasa ng Super Typhoon Rolly at Bagyong Ulysses, patuloy na nagsisikap ang GMA Kapuso Foundation na makapaghatid ng tulong sa lahat ng mga nangangailangan nating kababayan. #BuongPusoParaSaPilipino

GMA Kapuso Foundation

We hope that everyone would help spread the word and donate.

Miss World Philippines Winners: Battle Ready upon Coronation

The siren call for the Miss World Philippines 2020 pageant has begun!

One of the biggest criticisms that the Miss World Philippines had was the relatively short amount of time that our winners get to prepare. Since the time that the franchise was acquired by Cory Quirino in 2011, preparations of Philippine delegates seem to be cramped within a 2-3 month period. Some even in just 5-6 weeks.

Even now as Arnold Vegafria has handled the franchise for several years, nothing much has changed in terms of the preparations for the MW pageant by our local reps. The fact that the performance of  two Filipina reps, Laura Lehman and Katarina Rodriguez, are the lowest placement/ non-placement of the Philippines since Gwendoline Ruais in 2011 is a telling of how preparation should be a key element to placing in the London-based pageant.

Miss USA 2020 – Asya Branch

A new Miss USA has been crowned and she is Mississippi’s first African-American winner and now the states’ first Miss USA titleholder, Asya Danielle Branch.

This former Miss Mississippi America 2018 stands 5’6 1/2″ tall and  is a 22-year-old University of Memphis marketing major. Despite making up almost 40 percent of Mississippi’s population, Asya is the first Black contestant from the state to take home the top honor at the pageant’s national level.

Asya Branch is the first winner form Mississippi and is also the first African-American winner of her state pageant.

Shudufhadzo for MU| Thato for MW | Natasha for MS

Last October 24, Shudufhadzo Musida was named Miss South Africa 2020 with Thato Thelma Mosehle as 1st runner-up and Natasha Joubert as 2nd runner-up. The winners have been named a little over a week ago and yet we are still on the edge of our seats on who will be sent to the Miss Universe, Miss Supranational and Miss World pageants.

Although the announcement has yet to be made there are numerous speculations on which pageant should the three winners be sent. Some have already speculated that either Thato or Shudu will be sent to the Miss Universe pageant. While others argue that Shudu will be great in Miss World. With that in mind, these are our thoughts on who do we think would be perfect for which pageant.

Is 2020 the Rise of the WOC/ Bi-Racial Queens?

Women of color and bi-racial women are on the rise in pageantry. At least 5 recently crowned Miss Universe representatives are women with mixed ancestry and heritages. Featuring several high profile national titleholders, we are delving into this emerging trend among national pageants.

Women of mixed ancestry aren’t hardly new in the Miss Universe pageant. One of the high profile winners of the pageant, Brooke Mahaelani Lee, is Hawaiian-Korean-Chinese and is also perhaps one of the most outspoken Miss Universe winners. However, in most cases winners of the pageant in the last 10-20 years have seen mostly Latinas or those with half Caucasian ancestry with the MU title. It is rare seeing women of color or bi-racial women of color winning the title.

The following women are some of the recently crowned winners who are more than their skin color and pageant fans may have to be on the lookout for…

Pageants: A Question of Fairness

In one of the recent interviews of 2018 Miss Universe Catriona Gray, she mentioned the concept of what is fair in the realm of pageantry. When ABSCBN’s Karen Davila on the program Headstart asked Catriona if is cheating possible in a pageant, the beauty queen answered, “there is the judging/ score process and there is also the treatment of the candidates… it is important that contestants are treated the same, given the same conditions, the same resources at the pageant. And also that the judging panel is properly briefed. It’s really about equal footing…”

It is that statement from Catriona that really started this topic of being fair and not having questionable integrity in a pageant process. Today’s article  hopes that positive outcomes will be brought out with discussions on such delicate issue.

These are ways in which cheating or being unfair can happen in pageants…

The Binibining Pilipinas pageant’s criteria in judging puts heavy focus on facial beauty.

Alaiza Malinao: The Promdi’s Champion

Why can’t pageant fans stop talking about how perfect was Alaiza Malinao’s campaign in the recently finished Miss Universe Philippines? Here’s the main reason why…

If there was one takeaway from the 2020 Miss Universe Philippines campaign of Alaiza Malinao was her championship of the regular people of the provinces. Her representation of the probinyanos and probinsyanas are the stuff that makes her a legend not because she was the first to do so in a national pageant, but because she pushed and fought for the choice to have the ‘promdi‘ representation into the limelight.

In Defense of Michele Gumabao

One of the ladies in the hot seat in pageants lately is 2020 Miss Universe Philippines 2nd runner-up, Michele Gumabao.

Pageant fans have been throwing negative and accusatory comments left and right over social media, some even speculating unsportsmanship and ill-mannered attitudes over Michele. With all of these numerous floating accusations only a handful few came to her defense, not even the Miss Universe Philippines seems to have spoken and defended Michele against possible bashing from netizens.

While we cannot speak in behalf of the beauty queen-athlete, we can empathize with her to a certain degree. So let us try to walk a mile in her shoes and see things from a different perspective.

Miss South Africa 2020 Winners

Congratulations to the new winners of the 2020 Miss South Africa pageant! Shudufhadzo Musida of Ha-Masia, Limpopo emerged victorious from a pool of 9 finalists during the finale of the pageant.

First runner-up was medical doctor Thato Mosehle (25) from Klerksdorp in the North West who received R250,000 in cash. Second runner-up Natasha Joubert (23), a B Com graduate and entrepreneur from Pretoria, Gauteng, collected R100,000. The winner and runner-ups of Miss South Africa 2020 will represent South Africa at Miss Universe 2020, Miss World 2021, and Miss Supranational 2021.

Modern and trendy but also very cultural. These uniform outfits still showcases the individuality of the Miss SA 2020 finalists.

The 24 year-old winner has proclaimed winner and was crowned at the luxurious five-star Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town. Shudufhadzo earned her bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Pretoria. She is currently completing her Honors degree in International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.She is advocate for mental health awareness and educational and economic empowerment of women and children.

Rabiya Mateo | Miss Universe Philippines 2020

Meet your new Miss Universe Philippines 2020, Rabiya mateo from Iloilo! The 5’7″dusky skinned beauty was crowned last October 23rd at the Cordillera Convention Hall in Baguio City. The finals aired both on TV and online on Sunday, October 25.

The 23-year-old has beaten over 40 other candidates for the coveted inaugural title. A licensed physical therapist, Rabiya graduated with Latin Honors (cum laude) from the Iloilo Doctor’s College back in 2018. She works as a lecturer at review centers in different provinces for both local and international PT exams. Rabiya is also part of a charity that helps educate children who live near a dumpsite in Iloilo City.

Alaiza Malinao: The Miss Universe Philippines We Didn’t Know We Deserve

Alaiza Malinao’s shocking non-inclusion in the 2020 Miss Universe Philippines top 5 was one of the most unbelievable things that have happened in local pageantry in recent years.

When the leaked photos of the Miss Universe Philippines top 5 started to circulate on social media, we have been inundated with questions regarding where was Alaiza in the top 5? Fans got worried about her not placing top 5 to which a number of fans got disheartened

Let’s review what she has done in her MUPh journey…

Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Quick Review

Congratulations to the new winners of the 2020 Miss Universe Philippines pageant! Rabiya Mateo is named the inaugural winner of the first MUPh pageant.

The 5’7″ tall Ilongga was named the Miss Universe Philippines 2020 beating out other top 5 finalists Michele Gumabao, Bella Ysmael, Billie Hakenson and Pauline Amelinckx. Held at the Cordillera Convention Center last October 23rd, a new set of winners were named after undergoing a long arduous process of selection.

 

 

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OUR TRIBUTE TO THE GIRLS OF #MUP2020 Despite several girls unable to continue due to various personal reasons, despite the pandemic, despite the stressful gown leakages… we salute these ladies for coming this far! Kapit lang girls, ilang araw na lang! Follow us @sashesandscriptsofficial for more pageant trivia, news, rumors and updates! . . . . . . . #SashesandScripts #PageantBlogger #UltimatePageantBlog #PageantBlog #PageantBlogger #MissUPHRingLight #MissUniversePhilippines #EmpirePH #missuniversephilippines2020 #sustainabletourism #beautifultransformations #inspiringwomenwithaction #beyondthecoastlines #onephilippines #teamphilippines

A post shared by Sashes&Scripts (@sashesandscriptsofficial) on Oct 17, 2020 at 9:01pm PDT

 

From an original 50 candidates around 47 ladies representing different provinces, cities and municipalities all over the Philippines vied for the title.

Here are our thoughts on several aspects of the pageant…