Pageant fans extended an outpouring of support to Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel, making calls to follow the beauty queen on Instagram after Miss Universe Organization (MUO) president Raul Rocha pointed out her supposed less follower count compared to recent titleholders.
Rocha made the remark during a recent interview with Mexican journalist Adela Micha, in which he noted how controversial Miss Universe 2025 titleholder Fatima Bosch gained 3 million social media followers in just a week.
The MUO executive further said that Miss Universe 2023 and 2024 queens Sheynnis Palacios and Victoria Theilvig, who were both crowned under his term as MUO president, likewise marked a notable growth in the number of their social media followers.
He then compared these to Gabriel’s Instagram followers which, he said, had only reached around 800,000 since she was crowned.
A clip from the interview was shared by one Lucas Sigarini on Instagram, eliciting a reaction from Gabriel herself.
‘I’m so tired of being measured by follower count,’ she commented on the post. In a separate post, Gabriel celebrated surpassing the 1 million follower mark on Instagram, thanks to the thousands of new followers she earned in only a few hours.
‘In less than 24 hours, yall got me to 1 MILLION followers! It was never about the numbers, but people have looked down on me just because of my social media follower count,’ she said.
The beauty queen expressed her gratitude to those who have supported her, crediting them for giving her a bigger platform for her passion and advocacies.
‘Maraming salamat sa suporta,’ she continued. ‘It feels crazy to celebrate this, but I’m happy.’
‘Let’s not forget there’s still a whole world out there beyond digital platforms. Human connection and impact is still what’s most important.’ Among those who celebrated with Gabriel were Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, Miss Universe 2020 Andrea Meza, and Miss Universe 2023 Sheynnis Palacios.
‘Never about numbers! You are loved!’ Gray said in the comments section.