MANILA, Philippines — A Thai beauty queen was criticized by people in social media after she described Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray as “fat.”
In her Instagram story, Miss Grand Nakhon Phanom 2019 Coco Arayha Suparurk posted a photo of Catriona next to Miss Grand International 2018 Clara Sosa. She put a text on the photo of Clara as “fit” while “fat” on Catriona.
Screenshot from Instagram/Coco Arayha
The Instagram story has been deleted already, but fan pages and websites were able to screenshot the post.
Since Coco’s comments are now viral on different social media sites, online social media users are attacking the Instagram page of Suparurk, calling her out for her rude remark.
Before winning the Miss Universe 2018 crown, Catriona was also criticized by Thai pageant fans for her bikini photos taken during a trip to Koh Larn Island in Pattaya, Thailand, and was featured on the Instagram page of Vogue Thailand.
In response to those who think Catriona does not have that ideal “Miss Universe body,” Miss Universe Canada 2016 Siera Bearchell defended the Filipina beauty, saying that the people’s comments are “disturbing.”
Meanwhile, a day before she passed the Miss Universe Philippines crown to Gazini Ganados last month, Catriona turned to her Instagram story to share her experience joining the Binibining Pilipinas. One of her stories included her experience in body shaming.
"It was this same event that I experienced an increase in bodybashing, bodyshaming from so many in the online community. It's easy to tell someone to have a 'thick skin' but it hurts," Catriona wrote.
"There were days I really struggled reading comments online. And it was definitely a process. But I had to grow to accept and love my unique shape and appreciate my body for its strength and capabilities," she wrote in another Instagram story.
Both Catriona and Coco have not addressed the controversy as of this writing.