Miss Universe Paulina Vega Responds to Donald Trump Calling Her a Hypocrite!
The dispute between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and reigning Miss Universe Paulina Vega continue to fire up.
In a recent interview with Colombian radio station La W, Vega responded to Trump calling her a hypocrite for keeping the Miss Universe crown even after criticizing the business mogul's offensive remarks against Mexican immigrants.
"The fact that I am not giving up my crown doesn't mean that I am changing my stance about everything I said," the Colombian beauty explained in the interview, as reported by Yahoo! News. "It doesn't make any sense that Donald Trump calls me a hypocrite because I'm not giving up my crown."
Vega, 22, said that her inability to step down as Miss Universe has something to do with a signed contract with the organization, which was owned by Trump, Fox News Latino wrote.
In a post on her Instagram page a few days ago, Vega labeled Trump's statements about illegal immigration "unjust and hurtful."
"If the Miss Universe Organization shared any anti-Latin sentiments or any type of racial biases, I wouldn't be in this position today," Vega wrote. "I strongly believe that dividing and categorizing humankind only holds it back. Acknowledging and embracing the differences that exist across humanity is the first step in real and substantial development. We must strive together in order to improve the common good."
In Vega's interview, she explained that she will "not change everything that is going on" in her life because of a presidential campaign "that has nothing to do with Miss Universe," adding that the important thing is that the Latino community understands her situation, Fox News Latino reported.
Trump's remarks have caused widespread backlash and resulted to numerous companies and organizations severing ties with him. Bogota's city government pulled out its support for a bid to host Miss Universe in the future, while Panama, Mexico, El Salvador, and Costa Rica announced that they would not participate in the beauty pageant, a separate report from Fox News Latino wrote
"I think it's sad and unfortunate and unjust that not only the Miss Universe organization and those of other Latin American countries have to fight the broken glass of a political campaign," Vega said of the countries pulling out of the pageant, as quoted by the news outlet. "To say that no Latin American country should participate, when each of them have a dream and has invested time and money, is something very difficult and very delicate."
Univision and NBCUniversal have both refused to air the Miss USA pageant on July 12, CNN reported. Mexico's largest TV network Grupo Televisa and Ora TV, which is owned by the nation's richest man, Carlos Slim, parted ways with Trump as well, The Guardian added. Macy's department store is also pulling out Trump's menswear collection from its merchandise.