Philippines' Annabelle McDonnell claims she was sabotaged at Miss Charm 2023 pageant

MANILA, Philippines — Miss Charm 2023 first runner-up Annabelle McDonnell claimed that she was sabotaged during the preliminaries of the pageant. 

In a Facebook video posted by Pageanthology 101, Annabelle shared a story where her gown was sabotaged. 

"It was one of the worst days of my life. Nothing went well. Nothing went my way, and that's just the preliminary competition of Miss Charm International," she said.

"The minute I put on my evening gown, I knew something was wrong. We had put so much time and effort in making it, in seeing to it that it was good. It was a perfect fit.

"But what can you say? If someone wants to sabotage your gown, then you can't do anything about it. It's already beyond your control," she said. 

She said that her team asked her if she wanted to release a statement about her gown but she refused and just focused on the competition. 

"After the preliminary competition, me and my team Aces and Queens, we were talking among ourselves, 'Should we issue a statement? Should we inform people that my gown was sabotaged?' And I said no, you know what, it's fine. At this point, I'd rather protect the organization that I would want to work with for the entirety of the year if I do become one of the winners," she said. 

"It's okay if people don't believe in me. I believe in myself and that is enough. And I think that's what power is," she added.

Brazil's Luma Russo won the Miss charm 2023. Indonesia's Olivia Tan finished as second runner-up.