Do we like Pia Wurtzbach?
Our score: 8 out of 10. She has backed trans women and HIV education in public for years, with no harmful words or company turning up.
Pia Wurtzbach is the Miss Universe 2015 winner, and ten years on she's still one of the most recognisable faces to come out of Philippine pageantry. She's since worked as an actress, host and model, and she now sits outside the pageant world while still talking fondly about it. For a crown holder, that's a pretty grounded way to carry it.
On the harm check, she comes up well. In a June 2020 Instagram post during Pride Month, she said LGBTQIA+ people should be able to take up space in society and that people shouldn't invalidate trans women as women. That came as a trans pageant contestant was copping backlash online, and she stepped in rather than staying quiet.
Her advocacy goes past a single post. UNAIDS appointed her its Goodwill Ambassador for Asia and the Pacific in May 2017, with a focus on young people, HIV awareness and zero discrimination, including for trans people. She also took an HIV test on camera during her reign to cut through stigma, which is a fairly bold thing for a reigning queen to do.
On the scandal front, it's thin. We searched for lawsuits, convictions and fines and found nothing against her. What does follow her is the usual online pageant noise, like fan spats and rumours, and none of that came from a source we could properly pin down, so we've left it out.
The latest we found is low-key: in May 2026 she and fellow former titleholder Catriona Gray publicly congratulated the newly crowned Miss Universe Philippines. Nothing new has come up on her lately, which in celebrity terms is a good sign. She's pitched the crown as only as good as the people around it, which sounds about right.