Nova Stevens, Miss Universe Canada 2020, is a Canadian model, activist, and beauty pageant winner. Stevens is both a professional model and a Black Lives Matter activist outside of pageantry.
Nova Stevens' journey to her current position as a model and actress has not been straightforward. Stevens was born in Kenya and was taken to Canada by her parents at the age of six, wanting to have the chance to give her a better life and opportunities. She hasn't seen her parents in 22 years, but she has lived with numerous other family members in Alberta and Ontario until she was 15, when she opted to move out and live on her own.
Stevens competed for the Miss Universe Canada three times before winning the crown. She will represent Canada at Miss Universe 2020 as Miss Universe Canada. Nova will be the first woman of Sudanese descent to participate in the Miss Universe pageant.
On April 5, 2021, Nova Stevens posted this one. A photo of her alongside comments from Filipinos who were specified by the names available before the comment.
Photo from Instagram: @thenovastevens
Stevens hoped that recent more targeted advocacies such as "black lives matter" and "Asians are humans" would inspire people all over the world. Unfortunately, some people are still insensitive.
In her post: “I’m really disappointed with some Pageant fans from certain countries. Your hate takes away the fun and enjoyment from this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Is it really that difficult to spread love instead of hate? No one is saying you HAVE to support all contestants, all we’re saying is that you support your delegate without bringing others down. You don’t need to dim someone’s light in order for you to shine.”
The Miss Universe candidate took the way of expression of disappointment in a professional manner. Though most people might say that it's better to just ignore these comments as they were not true, you can't blame the person for being upset with comments that weren't supposed to be there.
Imagine you're having the best day of your life from now up to getting into the pageant and winning, and somebody just ruins it by making fun of your physical features.
Just think of joking about someone's face and that someone might have depression towards these comments. It might lead them to other undesirable actions like hurting themselves or even, committing suicide.
Bullying is never okay. We have to know that all of us are humans. We have emotions and feelings. We can all get hurt by ourselves and by other people.
To Miss Universe Canada, as a Filipina, I am deeply sorry for these comments. And I hope, you keep your chin up high because you are as beautiful as a diamond.
