In a lengthy Instagram post, Stevens, 26, shared a screenshot of her photo with several comments in Filipino criticizing and making fun of her skin color.
Some of the Filipino comments in the photos are 'katakot' and 'nognog.' One netizen even wrote, "akala ko engkanto."
The photo she posted also included translations of the comments in English.
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"With all that has been going on in the world ‘black lives matter’ ‘Asians are human’ you would think this would bring us together. Instead, looks like some people are still stuck in their ignorant and racist ideologies," the Canadian beauty queen of African descent wrote in her caption.
"I’m really disappointed with some Pagaent fans from certain countries. Your hate takes away the fun and enjoyment from this once in a lifetime experience," she continued.
Stevens then proceeded to ask, "Is it really that difficult to spread love instead of hate?"
"No one is saying you HAVE to support all contestants, all we’re saying is that you support your delegate without bringing others down. You don’t need to dim someone’s light in order for you to shine," the candidate stated.
"Please see the beauty that is in this world. We don’t need to look the same, we just need to treat eachother the same," she continued.
Hours later, Stevens added on the same post, "Hi everyone, thank you for the kind comments and messages. Please know that I am ok. This post is not a generalization, which is why I said “some.”
Although some of the screenshots from her post are in Tagalog, the beauty queen stressed that she is not generalizing all Filipinos as racist.
"In case it's not clear. I don't think all Filipinos are racist. That would be ridiculous to say. This picture with texts was constantly being sent to me recently which is why I shared it. I'm well aware that there are multiple countries that think this way. I'm sharing this as a teaching moment so that we can make pageants fun and enjoyable for all," she said.
In a separate post, Stevens posted another photo of her, this time, with screenshots of some positive comments from Filipinos under her photos.
"To my Filipino fans: I’m sorry if my previous post caused you any harm. My post wasn’t intended to incite more hate; rather shed light on the toxicity that sometimes hails from fans (from all over the world)," she wrote.
"My post wasn't intended to incite more hate; rather shed light on the toxicity that sometimes hails from fans (from all over the world). The last thing I want is for anyone to experience hate so please don't bash or generalize the Filipino fans; not all are racist," she added.
She also shared that some of her closest friends are Filipinos.
In the end, Stevens encouraged her followers to go back to spreading love and making the Miss Universe pageant fun for all contestants.
"Root for the girls, they deserve to be celebrated and spoiled with lots of love. They've worked so hard. Give them the best gift you can give anyone; if you're not sure what that gift should be, I'll help you out. Give them love. Nothing else. Just love," she wrote.
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