What is Michele’s side of the story?

“What is your truth? What is your side of the story? What is your experience?”

These were the questions that the King of Talk and The STAR columnist Boy Abunda would like to hear Michele Gumabao answer, when he recently tackled on his YouTube channel, The Boy Abunda Talk Channel, the video statement made by the volleyball star-turned-beauty queen in her own YouTube channel some weeks ago.

Boy dedicated the segment BA’s Take Talk to Michele’s controversial statement as he himself was extremely interested in understanding the reason for all that surfaced on the rumor mill about her after the 2020 Miss Universe Philippines. She placed second runner-up in the said beauty tilt where Rabiya Mateo won the crown.

Boy Abunda wants to hear the answers from 2020 Miss Universe Philippines second runner-up Michele Gumabao to his questions, among them, ‘What did you hear at 3 a.m. on Oct. 25?’

A self-confessed Michele fan, Boy said he watched the video and listened to every word that came out of her mouth. “So much has been said but we didn’t hear Michele’s side of the story so I had her statements transcribed — divided into 12 parts — because I wanted to understand what is her side of the story,” he stated.

The first part of BA’s Take Talk showed part of Michele’s statement pertaining to her being a voice for others, always encouraging others to fight for their dreams and to empower themselves. Michele admitted that in the days following the pageant, she was having a hard time taking that advice for herself out of fear of the consequences such as what people would say, yet she added, “I’m taking my own advice, I’m speaking up, but this time, I am speaking up for myself. I’m empowering myself, I am fighting for my story…”

According to Boy, his eagerness to know “what’s her story” was even more heightened as Michele started sharing about her journey with the pageant — from doing rehearsals, to having a sprained knee and to bonding with the girls — and the pressure of handling a hectic schedule.

One of Michele’s statements was mind-boggling. She revealed having heard “things that I shouldn’t have heard” on the witching hour of Oct. 25 at exactly 3 a.m.

“I heard things that I wasn’t supposed to hear and it hurt I must admit. I went back to my room and I cried so hard. I just got out, and went to my room, and wanted to be by myself and all of these questions just came back to my head, everything that I’ve been hearing for the past two days just came rushing in my head and I was heartbroken, I was devastated that night and I called my family and I wanted to go home,” disclosed Michele in the video.

However, Michele still proceeded with the pageant with the encouragement of people dear to her. She presented herself in front of the people with a smile plastered on her face.

Boy stressed that Michele did not further elaborate on what she heard that caused her “heartbreak and devastation.” He, too, pointed out the latter’s side of the story regarding speculations hounding the pageant results and the photos of the Top 5 that circulated without Michele.

The pageant results were already announced on the livestream and that explained Michele’s telling about “so many people came to me and were hugging me, and a lot of tears were happening around, and so many questions of…Why? How? What?”

She also cleared her absence in the photos of the Top 5. She said, “And after knowing what I knew the past few days everything just came crashing down on me and I couldn’t handle…I knew I was gonna cry and I didn’t want to do that in front of the cameras.”

However, she told her reasons to the organizers of her leaving early in the venue and one of the pageant heads permitted her yet, as she said, no one from the Miss Universe Philippines organization defended her when the issue on the photos cropped up.

Before heading home, Michele said she sent a congratulatory message to the winner “and she replied, ‘Thank you.’”

Michele went on to remind people to stop bashing, spreading lies and negativity, saying “we are all responsible for all the lies and all the issues that have been circulating now that have been affecting not only me but a lot more people.”

Even after Michele’s video statement, Boy said that until now “we do not know what are these lies,” the rumors that have been circulating, and what Michele heard. Boy admitted he began to think if Michele was cheated.

And then when she also talked about silencing women, keeping them quiet and just learning to accept their fate yet stressing on the point that candidates “have to be brave. You have to have courage and to speak up in the midst of all these,” Boy was hoping that Michele would finally tell her story.

“So, what is your story? What is your truth? What is your experience? We need to hear them from you. And it’s not just something that’s affecting her (but) it will affect the future of pageantry,” remarked Boy.

He continued, “Believe me, you have my respect, Michele. But at the end of your statement, I have more questions than before. At the end of your statement, I am more confused. At the end of your statement, I have more speculations.”

(BA’s Take Talk on Michele Gumabao’s controversial statement can be viewed on batalk channel on YouTube.)