Fijian pageant fiasco mixes race, ethics
Source: Agencies |
May 17, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
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FIRST came complaints that the winner of the Miss World Fiji pageant looked too Western to represent her country. Then her age came under scrutiny. And now, with the 16-year-old's crown lost, one of the judges says the contest was rigged from the start.
The pageant has turned into a fiasco in this South Pacific nation of about 900,000. The pageant's director is avoiding questions as fans of the fallen beauty queen, Torika Watters, flock online to support her.
Watters was crowned Miss World Fiji last month by an international panel of judges led by New Zealand supermodel Rachel Hunter, winning the opportunity to represent the country at the world competition in China in August.
Soon after, however, dozens of people posted messages on the Miss World Fiji Facebook page questioning whether Watters, who is of mixed racial heritage, represented Fijian beauty.
Two weeks after she won, Watters wrote on her Facebook page, pageant director Andhy Blake told her she couldn't compete for Miss World because she is too young. The international competition requires contestants be at least 17 years old, but Watters said Blake previously assured her "it was fine" because he had received a waiver.
Organizers announced a new winner: Koini Vakaloloma, 24.
A message on the Miss World Fiji Facebook page on Tuesday said that Watters had voluntarily stepped down and that reports connecting the decision with racism or her age were "untrue."
One of the six judges, Fijian fashion designer Hupfeld Hoerder, said yesterday that the judging was a sham.
He said there was no note-taking or judging criteria during the competition and that from early on, Blake had pressured the judges to name Watters the winner. Hoerder said that he tried to argue with Blake to no avail and, in protest, refused to attend the final night's crowning ceremony.
Hoerder said the contest has painted Fiji in a bad light and that the country shouldn't send anyone to China. "Everyone is playing the race card, saying it's racism," Hoerder said. "But this is about ethics, and an event that was unethical."
Watters said on her Facebook page that she wants "to get on with my life."
"I left Suva and the entire pageant fiasco ... because I was becoming very uncomfortable with the situation," she wrote. "I was worried about the lies, the deception, the lack of transparency and the lack of professionalism."
The pageant has turned into a fiasco in this South Pacific nation of about 900,000. The pageant's director is avoiding questions as fans of the fallen beauty queen, Torika Watters, flock online to support her.
Watters was crowned Miss World Fiji last month by an international panel of judges led by New Zealand supermodel Rachel Hunter, winning the opportunity to represent the country at the world competition in China in August.
Soon after, however, dozens of people posted messages on the Miss World Fiji Facebook page questioning whether Watters, who is of mixed racial heritage, represented Fijian beauty.
Two weeks after she won, Watters wrote on her Facebook page, pageant director Andhy Blake told her she couldn't compete for Miss World because she is too young. The international competition requires contestants be at least 17 years old, but Watters said Blake previously assured her "it was fine" because he had received a waiver.
Organizers announced a new winner: Koini Vakaloloma, 24.
A message on the Miss World Fiji Facebook page on Tuesday said that Watters had voluntarily stepped down and that reports connecting the decision with racism or her age were "untrue."
One of the six judges, Fijian fashion designer Hupfeld Hoerder, said yesterday that the judging was a sham.
He said there was no note-taking or judging criteria during the competition and that from early on, Blake had pressured the judges to name Watters the winner. Hoerder said that he tried to argue with Blake to no avail and, in protest, refused to attend the final night's crowning ceremony.
Hoerder said the contest has painted Fiji in a bad light and that the country shouldn't send anyone to China. "Everyone is playing the race card, saying it's racism," Hoerder said. "But this is about ethics, and an event that was unethical."
Watters said on her Facebook page that she wants "to get on with my life."
"I left Suva and the entire pageant fiasco ... because I was becoming very uncomfortable with the situation," she wrote. "I was worried about the lies, the deception, the lack of transparency and the lack of professionalism."
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