Herlene Budol, popularly known as Hipon Girl, gained mixed reactions from pageant fans and netizens for answering a question in a seemingly offhand manner during the Miss Grand International 2023 Q&A.
On Tuesday, June 20, the official sashing ceremony and press conference for the official candidates of Miss Grand International 2023 was conducted at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria Hotel in Pasig City.
During the press con, the interview commended Herlene’s large social media following along with her popularity among other candidates as she was the only one whose name is hyperlinked, which meant that she’s “famous enough to be in Wikipedia”.
She was then asked a question, “Apart from your big social media following, what else have you got in order to win the crown?”
Herlene answered in her true humor, “Thank you for that looong question for me… chariz.. I have a big followers because I have a big heart… O English yon, ha? Nakapag-compose po ako kaagad. Ano nga uli yung tanong?,” she said, prompting the interviewer to translate the question to Filipino language.
The candidate continued, “I think this is the right time. Last year, siguro hindi ko po oras. Ang sabi nga ng adbokasiya ng Miss Grand is… ano ba yon? World peace and what else again? Stop the war and peace. Since I was young… ah ang sarap mag-English… ummm naranasan ko pong ma-bully sa eskuwelahan, mabugbog sa tahanan, at dumayo sa ibang bansa… natutukan ng tatlong baril… talagang armalite at naging isang dayuhan. Para sa akin, ang solid ng experience na yon. In my own experience, ayokong maranasan ng iba yon.”
“At bilang isang Miss Grand, sisimulan ko sa aking experience na ipalaganap sa ibang tao na huwag matakot. Kahit anong pinagdaanan ng mga taong laging nakangiti, may katuturan yon at ikaw yung magiging lakas ng ibang tao para maging lakas,” Herlene said, eliciting laughs from the crowd.
She also shared her childhood experience on being bullied, “Hindi ko ma-explain pero naka-experience ko po talagang ma-bully. Ayoko po ng away. I’m from broken family.”
“Mag-i-start po yan sa ating tahanan at magsisimula po tayo sa maliit na problema. Kapag naumpisahan po natin sa ating tahanan na maging world peace and for the love love lang ang mga person, I think, good example yon para ipalaganap sa kung kalahatan.”
A phone was heard ringing while Herlene was answering the question, and upon noticing, she called out its owner and said, “Pakisagot po nung tumatawag.”
Herlene thanked the interviewer as she ended her turn, and added, “Sana po nasagot ko po Ma’am, mahirap lang i-explain.”
Despite being true to herself, Herlene’s funny remarks did not sit well with pageant enthusiasts who criticized her lack of class, which her followers have grown accustomed to such demeanor.
“Bakit nmn ganun, seryoso yung tanong eh,” a netizen said.
“She has the body indeed. But when you’re joining a pagent PLEASE, PLEASE ALSO CONSIDER THE BRAIN. I’m not saying that I am against Herlene but please consider what a TRUE QUEEN SHOULD BE,” another person commented.
“Ang dami niyang gustong sabihin pero hirap siyang ma-express ito kaya nagmumukhang “b0ba” tuloy siya. Kaya niyang sumagot kung tutuusin. She needs to organize her thoughts and be concise,” another one observed.
The beauty queen responded to the criticism and apologized to the public in a Facebook post on the same day.
“Sa sobrang kaba ko po Hindi kopo naexplain yung kung Anong gusto kopong sabihin sorry I admit di po ako magaling Sa lahat ng bagay and sorry kung nawalan po kayo sakin ng kumpyansa Sa isang pag kakamali I’ll try my best to make you proud,” she wrote.
On Wednesday morning, Herlene turned emotional in a Facebook live as she explained her side of the story.
Herlene greeted her viewers before addressing the elephant in the room brought up by the netizens’ comments on her live which seemed to be divided by negativity and words of encouragement, “Bakit ko daw dinogshow ang Miss Grand? Mukha ba kong nangtitrip lang?”
“Hindi ko dinogshow, wala akong dinodogshow,” she clarified.
Herlene read another comment from a netizen who said they were embarrassed for her, “Talaga Princess, nahihiya ka para sa akin? Thank you ha? Thank you.“
“Syempre ako yung gumawa, mas nakakahiya ‘yung sa part ko ‘di ba? Sorry ha nadissapoint ko kayo. Sobrang sorry,” she replied to another.
The candidate admitted that she had been thinking over the scene for days due to her frustration and disappointment with her answer. “Wag kayong magalala, sising sisi na po ako.”
On making another mistake again, Herlene remarked, “Wag kayo magalala last pageant ko naman na siguro ‘to.”
“Sorry ha. Sorry sa mga nagcocomment na dinogshow ko, pero ‘di ko dinodogshow, seryoso po akong lumalaban dito, as in pinagsasabay ko lahat para kayanin ko,” Herlene said on the weight of her dream of joining beauty pageants and the responsibilities that came with it which included learning and researching through books and films, and going through diets.
“Sorry hindi ako perfect,” she said.
“Nagsosorry ako kase ang dami kong na-dissapoint eh, sabi ko inspirasyon ako tapos bobo pala ‘yung inspirasyon niyo,” she added, sharing that some candidates saw her as an inspiration to join beauty pageants without the need to excel in speaking English.
“Ang bobo ko. Turuan niyo nalang ako, please.” Herlene said as tears fell from her eyes.
“More mistakes, more talk, more learnings. Tulungan niyo ko, wag niyo ko ibaba,” she continued, expressing her willingness to listen and learn from her critics.
Based in Angono, Rizal, Herlene gained recognition as the host of the variety program Wowowin under the stage name “Hipon Girl.”
She was notable for being the only contender to answer in Filipino during the Q&A segment of Binibining Pilipinas 2022. She received seven trophies and came in first runner-up.
The Miss Grand International competition for this year will take place in Vietnam in October.
