‘I’m not ungrateful,’ says Miss Grand International 2021

Miss Grand International 2021 Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien. Photo from Tien’s Instagram

Tien said on her livestream Sunday that she aimed to replace her title with an interesting quote, however, while scrolling through her profile, she got interrupted and thus left it empty.

Tien initially thought it was normal she wanted to remove her title, since she had seen many of her predecessors do so after passing their crowns to their successors.

However, after Teresa Chaivisut, vice president of Miss Grand International, texted her, she realized that she was wrong and immediately apologized.

Itsaragrisil had not re-followed Tien on Instagram as of Monday. The controversy started when netizens realized last Friday that Tien had removed her title of Miss Grand International 2021 from her Instagram account. Itsaragrisil unfollowed Tien on Instagram the day following, before going on a livestream, calling Tien “immature” and saying her act “caused many problems.”

“I apologize for thinking too lightly of my action, which made contest president Nawat Itsaragrisil misunderstand and unfollow me on Instagram,” Tien said during her livestream.

“I personally apologized to Nawat and Miss Grand International, as well as put my title back on my Instagram profile.”

Tien explained that she remained silent up until her livestream because she wanted to clarify things with Itsaragrisil before saying anything publicly. She added that people’s assumptions and comments had been even more serious than what she and Itsaragrisil really thought of the issue.

Still, she accepted all of the backlash she had been facing as the price for what she did.

Tien went on to deny accusations of her being ungrateful to Itsaragrisil. She said: “That’s just what people are assuming. I’m not ungrateful, but I’m careless, and nobody is perfect.”

The beauty queen cited her introverted personality for her lack of interactions on social media, which made many think she had caught the “star disease” and was looking down on others.

She said she would treat the controversy as a chance for her to improve herself.

“I would not have existed had it not been for Miss Grand International, and vice versa,” she said before adding that she would never forget how she only started to have her own life after winning the pageant.

The national director of Miss Grand Vietnam Pham Kim Dung said the controversy was simply a misunderstanding. As the head of Tien’s management agency, Dung sent her apology to Itsaragrisil and Chaivisut as well.

“Tien might be thoughtless or appear to be distant sometimes, but she is always grateful to the contest [Miss Grand International] and to those who helped her to change her life,” Dung said. “I believe this would be a life lesson for Tien.”

Dung also mentioned a previous incident when Tien didn’t come to the airport to welcome Itsaragrisil when he arrived in Vietnam. According to Dung, Tien was having a previously scheduled business trip when Itsaragrisil arrived, and thus couldn’t arrange to see him.

Tien, 25, was crowned the 2021 Miss Grand International in Bangkok, becoming the first Vietnamese to win the pageant. After the contest, she became known for her charity projects and other volunteer activities. It is estimated that Tien has earned between $2-3 million since her coronation.