On the night Manhattan went dark last July 14, Catriona Gray turrned her thoughts on the dark sides of social media.
The Filipino-Austalian beauty queen is back in New York to serve the last months of her reign as Miss Universe 2018.
Catriona used her time during the temporary power outage in the city to answer the question of her Twitter follower (@WillowPontino) about online bullying and body shaming, the bane of netizens.
It so happened that on July 5, Friday, Thai beauty queen Coco Arayha Suparurk called Catriona "fat" in her Instagram story before she was crowned Miss Grand Thailand 2019.
Although Catriona did not mention the incident in her answer to her follower, the 25-year-old beauty queen reiterated her stand against any form of bullying.
She wrote, "Obviously I stand firmly against any form of bullying and bashing - online and off.
"It is never, ever okay to put someone down for the sake of 'expressing your opinion.'
"With words come power and we should be using those words to build someone up and not pull them down."
Catriona also has an inspiring message to her Twitter follower who described herself as a "fat girl" having trouble loving the way she is.
The beauty queen reminded her, "You are so much more than your body!
"You are your mind and your unique talents and your character and your life experiences and your personality!
"You are so so much more than the exterior!
"And people will always remember how you made them feel and not how you looked."
In another tweet, Catriona wrote, "I don't condone any form of bullying or bashing.
"Even if it's in response to an initial comment or in the name of 'protecting' or 'standing up.'
"If you respond to hate with hate, you have a never ending cycle.
"All of us have the power to be the difference, and I hope we will."
CATRIONA ON OVERCOMING INSECURITIES
Catriona also shared empowering messages to body-shaming victims on Twitter.
She wrote, "Body shaming is hurtful and [should] never be tolerated.
"If anyone reading this too has been bodyshamed, I know how it feels.
"I'm sorry you've had to experience that. But know that you are more than your appearance.
"You are a capable, unique and worthy person. And you are never alone."
Catriona also left an advice to her followers struggling with their own insecurities.
She wrote, "Insecurities will always be there, but your ability to work past them is what you can work on.
"Be kind to yourself, we're all works in progress and that's okay."