Miss Universe Visit Shifts Focus From Online Hate to Self-Worth

Miss Universe Ivory Coast, Olivia Yacé, is in Belize this week, and today she teamed up with Miss Universe Belize, Isabella Zabaneh, for a powerful moment at City Hall. Together, the queens sat down with teenage girls for an empowering session called The Confidence Room, a space focused on self-worth, identity, and the real challenges young women still face today. But Yacé’s visit hasn’t been without controversy. Tonight, we take a closer look at how both women are confronting hurtful experiences head-on and transforming them into messages of strength, resilience, and empowerment.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

A visit meant to inspire quickly became part of a national conversation. Miss Universe Ivory Coast Olivia Yacé is in Belize this week, and while her arrival was overshadowed by an online racist comment that sparked public outrage, today she shifted the focus to empowerment. Yacé joined Miss Universe Belize Elizabeth Zabaneh at Belize City Hall for The Confidence Room, an honest, uplifting discussion with teenage girls about identity, resilience, and the challenges young women continue to face. Instead of letting controversy define the moment, both queens used it as fuel for a powerful message of self-worth and strength.

 

Olivia Yacé, Miss Universe Ivory Coast

“The most common one I always get is I get  called a monkey a lot, an ape, a chimpanzee, a monkey. Look at me, am I ugly guys?”

 

Alex Mes, a tour guide for more than a decade, says he deeply regrets the comment and admits he feels guilty about what he posted. Mes spoke with News Five by phone, expressing remorse as the controversy continues to unfold.

 

On the Phone: Alex Mes, Tour Guide

“I would like to sincerely ask for an apology. It was not my intention. I was going through a family dispute that morning and I was under the influence so I was not in might sense at that moment. Its like I fell guilty and I ask myself to lay low for at least a week and so I will back off from my work for a week.”

 

Yacé took the high road, encouraging love in the face of hate.

 

Olivia Yacé

“Understand that sometimes people will project and that is ok and not something you have to put on yourself but give love back. I am a Christian, so I do believe in giving grace to people.”

 

The session quickly moved beyond speeches and slogans. Through hands-on activities and encouraging dialogue, Miss Universe Belize Isabella Zabaneh shared a deeply personal story, opening up about the criticism she has also faced because of her skin color. Fighting back tears, she spoke honestly with the young girls, turning a painful experience into a powerful lesson on self-acceptance and strength.

 

Isabella Zabaneh, Miss Universe Belize

“That is hard for me, because as a woman who represents this country you might not see the black in me, but the same thing you are calling me is what my family had to suffer through too. That is hard, it is hard to face some of the labels placed on your life. I have the power to choose whether or not I let things affect me. What is happening, its getting clearer. What were you at birth? Pure?”

 

Mes says he is happy that Yacé chose to visit Belize. Sincere or not, Zabaneh made it clear the comment was deeply disappointing.

 

Isabella Zabaneh

“I was identified as a tourist and I won’t even mention what she was identified as. And just the frustration of knowing that somebody in Belize who I have represented would say such a thing was frustrating and disappointing for me.”

 

Olivia Yacé

“Like I said, I love Belize, I have had an amazing experience. The people are very nice, so you cant base an experience on one person or one bad thing that happened.”

 

In the face of racism, the young women left with confidence and tools to silence negativity.

 

Abishai Staine, Participant

“One lesson I can apply to my life is that now that I heard this, I don’t have to listen to the opinion that people share because those opinions don’t matter. It is what I think about myself and that is what is important.”

 

In the end, what happened online couldn’t overshadow what happened inside that room today, girls discovering their voice, their confidence, and their worth. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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