Harnaaz Sandhu shares Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee's inspiring answer on handling criticism on weight gain: Watch video

Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu shared a video of Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee's inspiring answer on how she would handle criticism on weight gain on the Miss USA 1997 stage. She posted the clip with the caption, "Just a reminder."

Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu grabbed headlines earlier this month when she opened up on the online bullying she had to face for gaining weight after winning the beauty pageant. The 22-year-old was crowned the Miss Universe 2021 in December last year. After the win, she was touring India when online trolls targeted her for gaining weight. Now, Harnaaz has once again made a strong statement against women facing criticism for weight gain by posting a video of Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee. Scroll ahead to know more.

Harnaaz Sandhu shares Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee's inspiring answer on handling criticism on weight gain (Instagram)

On Wednesday, Harnaaz posted a video of Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee, also known as Brook Lee, from the Miss USA 1997 competition on her Instagram stories. After winning the Miss USA title, Brooke went on to become the Miss Universe for that year. And just like her win, her answer on the Miss USA stage, which sealed her win, remains iconic. The host had asked Brooke what would she do if she faces criticism for weight gain from the press just like the reigning Miss Universe. "Miss Universe has recently been the subject of a lot of press attention about her weight. If this happened to you, how would you handle it?" the host had enquired Brooke.

Brooke replied, "I think I would take a good hard look at myself and I'd look from the inside out and I'd know that I was the same girl that was crowned that day and it really didn't matter what I look like on the outside because I won for what I was in here. So if I go up, I go down, I get taller, I get shorter my nose gets bigger, smaller...I'm still who I was when that crown was on my head and I a good representative no matter what." Watch her video below.

The video was posted by a Miss Universe fan page, which Harnaaz reposted with the caption, "Just a reminder."

Screenshot of the story Harnaaz Sandhu posted on Instagram. (Instagram)

In April, online trolls criticised Harnaaz for her weight gain, which led to her opening up about having celiac disease, an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.