Miss Earth sponsor accused of sexual harassment speaks up

MANILA, Philippines — The sponsor accused of sexual harassment by some Miss Earth 2018 contestants cried foul after his name was dragged in the pageant’s controversy. 

Amado Cruz, who is sponsoring various pageants, denied the sexual harassment claims of Canada’s Jaime Vandenberg, England’s Abbey-Anne Gyles-Brown and Guam’s Emma Mae Sheedy.

In a report by ABS-CBN News, Amado confirmed he sponsored the event as well as the dinner party at the Manila Yacht Club, but denied any sexual abuse accusations as he said, he could not understand why his sponsorship would be given a malicious meaning.

He also denied asking for any of the candidates’ phone numbers, as well as asking for sexual favors. 

Miss Earth Guam named Amado as the accuser in a lengthy Instagram post. 

“The sponsor who’s name is Amado S. Cruz became a problem for many of the delegates, including myself. To focus on ONLY myself, I was pulled aside multiple times to be invited to Boracay, private islands and into his house and insisted that I and ‘the latino women dance for him,” she wrote.

“Amado S. Cruz grabbed my bare backside at the National Costume Competition where I was able to push him away, but he consistently told me not to tell anyone about any of the instances,” she added. 
Amado also denied the accusations, saying he could not do it in a public event. As for the Boracay invitation, he said the candidates are the one who want to go to the island. 

The sponsor also said that he is consulting his lawyers for possible legal actions to counter the accusations. 

Meanwhile, Miss Earth Organization said that Amado is forever banned in the pageant. The organization is also encouraging the alleged abuse victims to submit written statements for a formal complaint. 

Photos of the accused and the Miss Earth contestants have also recently surfaced online, as posted by netizens.  

pic.twitter.com/Z7CB9UQOTb

— Prince Puaso (@ohyeahprince) November 8, 2018

 

 

 

 

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My side of the Miss Earth International Experience: - After a year and a half of preparation for my first beauty pageant; the Miss Earth pageant, I was excited to travel back to the Philippines for the 6th time. The hospitality of the Filipinos is not found anywhere else. The Philippines is like a second home to me. I joined the pageant to make a difference and be a role model to those around me. I enjoyed a majority of the pageant, but what I did not know, is that a specific sponsor from the Manila Yacht Club would change the way I see pageantry and sponsors. The sponsor who’s name is Amado S. Cruz became a problem for many of the delegates, including myself. To focus on ONLY myself, I was pulled aside multiple times to be invited to Boracay, private islands and into his house and insisted that I and “the latino women dance for him.” Amado S. Cruz grabbed my bare backside at the National Costume Competition where I was able to push him away, but he consistently told me not to tell anyone about any of the instances. At the Manila Yacht Club, Amado S. Cruz ensured that the team managers and security personnel were separated in another room, this is where he made many girls uncomfortable. A groups of us left the room because we felt uncomfortable, but Amado S. Cruz followed us and insisted that we stayed inside to dance with him. We asked our team managers to bring us to the busses, which took over 20 minutes for them finally to do. Later on that night @missjaimeyvonne and @Miss.Earth.England spoke on the phone with Lorraine Schuck, the Vice President of Miss Earth, who assured them that Amado S. Cruz would not be at any other event. From the moment the pageant started until coronation night, Amado S. Cruz was at every event and dinner he could physically get to. Since other delegates have posted, multiple other queens from past years have come out about the same behavior. I want to help put a stop to this sponsor being apart of the Miss Earth International Pageant because he has become a problem for years. #missearth2018 #missearth #MeToo @missearth

A post shared by Emma Mae (@erma101) on Nov 7, 2018 at 2:39pm PST

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