R'Bonney Gabriel eloquently showed why she deserves the crown in her preliminary interview in the 71st Miss Universe pageant.

Organizers released the full video of her closed-door interview, where the United States representative spoke about her advocacy, how she remained resilient amid challenging times, as well as her Filipino roots.

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Reacting to claims that the Miss USA pageant was rigged in her favor, the Filipino-American beauty queen said she felt her hard work was "overshadowed," and at one point questioned why such things are happening to her.

But she believed that "everything happens for a reason," adding that the experience made her a stronger person.

"I feel like God is giving me this challenge to overcome and to show everyone that even the negative comments and what people say do not define who you are. And I feel like because it's in the public eye, I've shown people resiliency. I've learned to stand strong in who I am, stay strong in my truth," she said.

"And for people that still don't believe, I just work hard every day. I'm working hard here at Miss Universe to show why I deserve to be here. And I just hope that time will just allow people to see more and more of who I am, and I just believe the hard work will show for itself," she added.

When asked about the importance of diversity, especially in the United States, Gabriel said it "helps cultivate an open mindset" and "allows us to not judge."

"I'm actually the first Filipino-American Miss USA and since I won there are little girls that message me and they say they see themselves in me... I need girls to believe in themselves. Diversity just makes everyone feel seen. We all want to feel seen and heard at the end of the day," she said.

Other questions given to Gabriel include the relevance of Miss Universe today, the importance of being a role model, and about the change she plans to bring as a titleholder.

Watch her interview below:

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