Above: 2012 Miss Hong Kong Pageant contestants, Roxanne Tong and Melanie McAndrew. Due to the fierce elimination rounds implemented in this year’s 2012 Miss Hong Kong Pageant, this may have unwittingly set up rivalry among the contestants. Roxanne Tong (湯洛雯) was rumored to be an unhygienic bully, tossing her underwear briefs haphazardly in a London hotel room. Roommate, Melanie McAndrew (李渼琦), picked up after the mess and filed complaints against Roxanne. As the accusations over the “mean girl” grew stronger, TVB ordered immediate silence among the contestants. Is Roxanne Tong a “Mean Girl”? While shooting in London for the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, Melanie McAndrew and Roxanne Tong were assigned as roommates at the hotel. According to Melanie, Roxanne often threw her underwear briefs all over the room. On one occasion, Melanie even picked up the underwear briefs in order to sort the messy room. Roxanne allegedly countered by placing a wet towel inside Melanie’s bag. Although Melanie did not cry over the incident, it made her extremely sad. Scared of staying in the same room as Roxanne, Melanie complained to the Miss Hong Kong Pageant staff and asked to change rooms. Melanie indicated that the other contestants were nice, with the exception of Roxanne treating her poorly. Xaviera Yau (尤蔭蔭) reinforced Melanie’s story. Xaviera said, “The Miss Hong Kong Pageant selects beauty and intelligence. I feel that it is important for the winner to have some ethics at least. It takes time for you to see others’ intentions. Later, you will see who lacks ethics!” Xaviera said that Melanie McAndrew possessed a very pure personality, which made her a frequent target of bullying. Roxanne Tong Denies Being a Bully In response to Melanie McAndrew’s claims that she was a bully, Roxanne Tong was surprised. Roxanne said, “I truly did not bully her! She and I are team leaders and we are both young. I often ‘look after’ her. I do not understand why Xaviera Yau made such statements against me! I feel helpless!” Another possibility was that Melanie McAndrew and Xaviera Yau spun their story together to target Roxanne. Asked if she thought this was likely, Roxanne said, “I do not wish to say this about them. But I truly did not do this. I did not have any problems getting along with Melanie.” Roxanne added, “Why did she feel that I had bullied her?” Roxanne denied that she haphazardly placed her underwear briefs in the hotel room. Roxanne’s uncle, Kent Tong, also denounced the rumors to be completely false. TVB Orders Silence Among Contestants Two camps have reportedly emerged, with “Hot Favorites” versus “Overseas Candidates” taking hold. Allegedly, Jacqueline Wong was a gossip magnet and had started the rumors that Roxanne Tong had bullied Melanie McAndrew. Jacqueline denied this, noting that she only heard about the incident but did not witness it herself. After Melanie McAndrew changed to a new room, she and Xaviera Yau no longer commented on the rumors revolving around Roxanne Tong. However, Roxanne admitted that she had cried her eyes until they turned puffy over the recent claims that she was a bully. The Miss Hong Kong Pageant personnel denied that the panel had ordered the contestants to stop making press statements over the incident. The panel stated that the contestants did not fight with each other. It was also announced yesterday that Melanie McAndrew has advanced directly to the finals night of the 2012 Miss Hong Kong Pageant, along with hot favorites Cynthia Tsang and Carat Cheung. The three women have received high points due to their good performances thus far. Creds: Ming Pao
