Ahtisa Manalo urged her fans to stop from being mean to reigning Miss Cosmo titleholder Ketut Permata Juliastrid of Indonesia, as she stressed that they’re friends outside the pageant.

Manalo called out her followers on her Instagram Broadcast Channel on Monday, Oct. 7, as she expressed her disappointment toward pageant fans who have been “bullying” Juliastrid on social media.

“I’m so disappointed with how a lot of us have been acting. Quit bullying Tata. She’s my friend and when you say mean things to her, you’re saying it to me,” she wrote, referring to the Indonesian beauty queen by her nickname.

Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@ahtisamanalo

Manalo also addressed a certain video making waves on social media, which netizens speculate to be Juliastrid saying she “tried her best” in Miss Cosmo 2024 “even though [her] legs were hurting” in a post-pageant press conference.

This video led to fans claiming that the Indonesian beauty queen was throwing shade at Manalo, even though the latter reiterated that it’s not the case.

“I watched the video you all are referring to, and she didn’t mean in anyway it’s me,” she said.

In a follow-up post, Manalo reminded her fans that how they act is a “direct reflection of who [they] are.”

“How they act is on them. How we act is on us. What we say is a direct reflection of who we are,” she said.

The pageant veteran also issued the same reminder on her Facebook page, which led to mixed reactions in the comments section.

Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ma. Ahtisa Manalo

Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ma. Ahtisa Manalo

Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ma. Ahtisa Manalo

Image: Screengrab from Facebook/Ma. Ahtisa Manalo

Manalo ended her Miss Cosmo 2024 run in the Top 10, which led to a wave of backlash among fans, with many accusing the global tilt of “sabotaging” the Quezon-based beauty queen in favor of other candidates.

She, however, took the loss in stride and reminded her followers to continue pushing for women empowerment.