Italy's first disabled Miss
Italy contestant has drawn haters on social media, spurring her
on to achieve her ambition.
"They're only gonna vote for you because you're a cripple,"
was one of the comments on Facebook, to which 18-year-old Chiara
Bordi replied "I may be missing a leg but you're lacking a
heart".
Bordi, from Tarquinia near Rome, lost her leg in a car crash
a couple of years ago.
Her determination drew plaudits from Paralympians,
entertainers and politicians.
"Come on Chiara! If you put everything on the scales,
compliments will outweigh the insults," said Paralympian and
centre-right Forza Italia MP Giusy Versace.
Comedian Fiorello said "Chiara, you're beautiful, you're hot,
(let's use a barroom language, without hypocrisy"). Carry on the
way you're going".
Chiara said "I'm doing all this to show obtuse people that a
girl without a limb can compete on a par with the others, that
diversity is not binding, that life never stops and is always
beautiful, even when it seems to have it in for you, that you
can be reborn from a drama and you can grow stronger than
before, it all depends on how you react."
The Miss Italia final is live on La7 tonight.
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