MANILA, Philippines — Veteran television host Boy Abunda revealed that he was invited to be a judge at the recently concluded Miss Universe 2023 pageant but was disqualified from further selection.
Boy began the November 21 episode of his GMA show "Fast Talk with Boy Abunda" by addressing an article released earlier this month about Miss Universe inviting him to judge in El Salvador.
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"Totoo po 'yun, I confirm that. Ako'y inimbitahan but I was also disqualified from judging this year's Miss Universe dahil I did an interview with one of the candidates," Boy said.
The host was referring to his interview with the Philippines' Michelle Dee prior to the beauty queen flying out for final pageant preparations.
Boy pointed out that such an incident prevents him from being a judge, which he accepted and quipped he would've voted for Michelle "whatever happened."
"Nai-imagine ko because everybody is so invested about beauty pageants, I can imagine how difficult it is to judge," Boy added.
He praised Michelle for making it to the Top 10, though pointed out some people "have a lot of questions," likely because many believed Michelle deserved a higher finish given her strong runway performances and topping the fan vote.
Boy said he would sit down with Michelle to discuss her Miss Universe 2023 journey when she returns to the Philippines.
Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua was crowned as Miss Universe 2023, the first-ever title for her country, with Thailand's Anntonia Porsild as the first runner-up.
Apart from winning the fan vote, Michelle also won the Spirit of Carnival Award and was among the three Gold winners of the Voice For Change competition with her advocacy toward autism awareness. — Video from GMA Network's YouTube channel
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