Miss Universe was trending on Monday as Filipino fans on an unofficial holiday cheered Beatrice Luigi Gomez to the Philippines' first Top 5 finish since 2018 while being amused by eventual winner Miss India's cat meow.
On top of Philippines trends on Twitter was "#70thMissUniverse" with more than 236,000 mentions as of 11:40 a.m. "Go Bea", #GoMezUniverse", "Marian", and "Laban Bea" also trended as Filipinos rallied behind the openly bisexual queen with an armband tattoo.
Miss Universe gave Filipinos a scare when host Steve Harvey called Gomez third to the last in the Top 16, extending the Philippines' semis streak to 12 years.
She was also the seventh name to be called in the Top 10, and earned the last spot in the Top 5. The last time the Philippines made it to the Top 5 was in 2018, when Catriona Gray became the fourth Filipina Miss Universe.
It was a relief for pageant-crazed Filipinos who thought Gomez wouldn't enter the semis after a purported list of semifinalists was leaked online.
"Recording artist" briefly went viral on Twitter after Steve Harvey introduced Filipina actress Marian Rivera as judge. A day before, she taught fellow judge Urvashi Rautela "Sabay Sabay Tayo" dance steps.
With Rivera as judge, Filipinos had high hopes for Gomez's campaign.
Gomez claiming the last Top 5 slot meant the Philippines was back in the evening gown competition.
Wearing a pintados-inspired gold Francis Libiran with his signature art deco touch, Gomez was likened to Maja Salvador's Lily Cruz out for revenge.
Filipinos are proud of the Cebuana who raised two flags -- the Philippines and the LGBTQIA+ community -- on the world stage.
Congratulations to Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu, who beat 79 other candidates to claim the title. She deserves it, netizens said, after she was asked to meow on stage during the competition.
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