Maxine says sorry
BEAUTY queen-actress Maxine Medina has issued a public apology after receiving criticism for attending an event that promotes gender equality.
Netizens thought it unbecoming for Maxine given her previous stand against transwoman Angela Ponce of Spain joining the Miss Universe pageant.
“May mga pageants naman na for them,” she was quoted as saying then.
With the whole issue brought to light anew following her appearance at the aforementioned equality event, Maxine took to Instagram to apologize and explain herself.
“…saw a resurfacing of a statement I made last year regarding my opinion on Angela Ponce, the first transwoman to join Miss Universe. While I was truly caught in a moment, I’ll graciously and humbly say that it was misinformed, and lacking in empathy and understanding. I know first-hand how it is to feel invalidated as I have been bullied all my life... That’s why I really apologize if this is how you felt and still feel,” she wrote.
“It isn’t that I am not supporting a transwoman beauty queen, in fact I was actually proud of Angela, Miss Spain that she made a big step doing this to inspire others and that she had the courage of joining and asking Miss Universe to represent her country as a transwoman.”
Maxine admitted she still has much to learn and understand concerning gender equality.
“…Equality, I realized, is also about education and learning, not just based on what I know and believe, but also those of others as
well,” she said.