Ashley Callingbull made headlines after calling out cultural appropriation she witnessed during Miss Universe Canada’s 2026 national costume competition
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NEED TO KNOW
- Ashley Callingbull addressed cultural appropriation during the Miss Universe Canada finale after contestants wore sacred Indigenous dresses
- The pageant apologized and announced plans for a comprehensive costume guide to prevent future cultural insensitivity
- Callingbull has faced backlash but remains committed to advocating for diversity and inclusion in the pageant world
Ashley Callingbull, the former Miss Universe Canada titleholder who called out contestants for cultural appropriation during the competition’s finale, is calling for more “diversity and inclusion” in the pageant world.
Callingbull made headlines when she chose to address instances of cultural appropriation that she had witnessed during an earlier portion of the competition in an unplanned monologue during the pageant’s finale. (The two contestants — Jasleen Kaily and Karisa Haverkamp — who were both filmed wearing dresses sacred to Indigenous peoples during the competition, have since apologized for the incident).
Upon learning about the cultural appropriation initially, Callingbull raised the matter with the pageant’s team, who immediately responded, issuing a statement of apology and thanking Callingbull for her guidance on the matter.
“We have recently received feedback regarding some of the national costumes featured in our competition,” the organization wrote on Aug. 7. “We want to address this directly and sincerely: if any costume caused offense, hurt, or misunderstanding, please know that it was never our intention.”
However, Callingbull tells PEOPLE that she knew she needed to say something further, which ultimately led to her statement on stage during the competition’s finale on Saturday, Aug. 8.
Credit: Miss Universe Canada
Speaking with PEOPLE following her statement on stage, Callingbull says that in order to move forward from the incident, “things need to change.”
“They definitely need, for sure, more diversity and inclusion on that team for people to understand,” she says.
Adds Callingbull, “It can’t just be me. I can’t be the bandaid for this mistake. You can’t just say, ‘Ashley’s the cultural liaison for everyone now.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I could speak for some Indigenous people, but I can’t speak for everyone … I can’t also be tokenized in this way.’ ”
Credit: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty
In their statement, the Miss Universe Canada organization added that, to ensure a similar incident did not occur again, they would be “actively implementing a comprehensive Costume Guide” which will “establish clear guidelines and standards for all future pageant cycles to ensure every presentation is thoughtful and respectful.”
The pageant added, “We deeply appreciate our community holding us accountable, and we remain committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful platform for everyone involved.”
Callingbull was encouraged by the pageant’s steps, adding that she felt that the presence of even more cultural liaisons was necessary moving forward, as well as the implementation of systems and checks and balances that would ensure that this didn’t happen again.
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She adds that there are other ways that individuals who are not of Indigenous descent can honor the culture of the country respectfully.
“There was actually a contestant this year, no one is talking about her because they’re too busy talking about this, but there’s a contestant this year that I know she’s non-Indigenous. She actually hired an indigenous designer… and actually got a custom outfit made for the costume portion that was not culturally appropriation or anything. It was beautiful,” Callingbull says.
While many on social media were proud of Callingbull for speaking up, she also tells PEOPLE that, as a result of her advocacy, she has received death threats and abusive messages from people online.
“That’s what sucks about it, but I’m glad people are finally listening. It sucks that I’m taking so much heat from it. I’ll take it, but people need to learn,” she adds.
However, Ashley added that many of the contestants came up to her following the incident. “They were like, ‘That was really brave of you to do that, but we’re glad you did it.’ And I said, ‘I hope you girls learn something from that. Regardless if people try to silence you or you feel like the world is against you, use your voice and speak up, because you have no idea the impact it can make. Don’t let fear stop you.’ ”
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