TRANSCRIPT: Miss Universe 2021 Q&A segment

MANILA, Philippines – The top 5 candidates of the 70th Miss Universe 2021 pageant shared their thoughts on varying global issues during the coronation night’s Q&A portion on Monday, December 13 (Philippine time) at Eilat, Israel.

Each finalist was asked a different question by a judge they randomly selected from a pool of names. Each candidate had 30 seconds to answer. Here are the girls’ respective questions and answers:

Harnaaz Sandhu, India

Many people think climate change is a hoax. What would you do to convince them otherwise?

Honestly my heart breaks to see how nature is going through a lot of problems, and it’s all due to our irresponsible behavior. I totally feel like this is the time to take actions and talk less, because each action could either kill or save nature. Prevent and protect is better than repent and repair, and this is what I’m trying to convince you guys to do. Thank you.

Lalela Mswane, South Africa

Should tweets and social media comments form a person in their teenage years be held against them years later?

I believe that everybody should be held accountable for their actions, and if a person doesn’t know how to act on social media, they should be canceled. I believe in cancel culture. In the same way, I also believe in redemption culture, and hoping that the person has matured and has learned better and done better. I hope that they could do better and be redeemed, so I do believe that they can grow and be allowed to do that.

Nadia Ferreira, Paraguay

How can women best handle body-shaming?

Our body is our temple, so we must take care of it. Our inner beauty is what really matters. Let us cultivate our inner beauty, so it can reflect our external beauty. Thank you.

Valeria Ayos, Colombia

According to Global Citizen, 95% of the world’s countries are led by a male head of state. How would the world be different if more women were in charge?

Women are leaders by nature. We have the power to raise our voice and make transcendental decisions in society as role models, and we can be an example not just with words but with actions. That’s why women raising their voice as in [sic] this platform called Miss Universe, we are taking charge of our lives and deciding what we want to impart to the society in order to make it a better one. Women, let’s raise our voice and make us a better united universe. Thank you.

Beatrice Luigi Gomez, Philippines

Given the ever-changing COVID situation, what is your opinion of mandating a universal vaccine passport?

I believe that public health is everyone’s responsibility, and to mandate vaccine inoculation is necessary. If mandating vaccine passports would help us in regulating the rollouts of the vaccine, and mitigate the situation of the pandemic today, then I would agree on mandating the necessary passport of vaccination. Thank you. – Rappler.com