Beauty Pageant Brouhaha! Underage Miss Fiji Dethroned, Subjected to Racist Backlash
Beauty pageants have been giving us a whole lotta ugly news lately.
First, transgender Miss Canada hopeful Jenna Talackova was disqualified from competing, prompting pageant organizers to reverse that decision with a historic policy change. Then, Miss Dominican Republic Carlina Duran was stripped of her title because she turned out to be married.
The latest scandal du jour?
Miss Fiji stunner Torika Watters, the country's one-time candidate to the upcoming Miss World pageant, has reportedly been dethroned for being underage—while also coming under fire for her mixed-race heritage.
MORE: Miss Universe Pageant Allows Transgender Women to Compete
Per Australia's ABC News, Watters was stripped of her title for being 16 years old—the minimum age to join the pageant is 17. "The change is done because of the age criteria whereby Torika will be eligible next year," a rep said in a statement.
Watters' victory, however, reportedly spurred a nasty backlash that the beauty queen, who is part European, didn't look Fijian enough, with several detractors decrying that the country's candidate should have a typically frizzy Fijian hairstyle.
A pageant spokeswoman told the Aussie news service that they've received "nothing but negative criticism and remarks from our own people" about Watters' selection, and that a slew of complaints had to be deleted from the pageant's Facebook page.
"While we appreciate a healthy discussion and feedback on our page, violent or racist comments will not be tolerated," the spokeswoman explained.
MORE: Miss Dominican Republic Carlina Duran Dethroned for Being a Missus!
The pageant's 24-year-old first runner-up, Koini Vakaloloma, will instead rep the country at the Miss World pageant in Mongolia this August.
Watters, meanwhile, has taken to Facebook to air her side of the story, writing: "I had no intentions of doing anything sneaky or wrong and like the other contestants entered the competition for what I believed to be the right reasons - to be an Ambassador for Fiji and raise money for charitable causes."
She also added that she was "proud of my identity as a Fijian and have never considered my people as racists" and that "I...just want to get on with my life."
First, transgender Miss Canada hopeful Jenna Talackova was disqualified from competing, prompting pageant organizers to reverse that decision with a historic policy change. Then, Miss Dominican Republic Carlina Duran was stripped of her title because she turned out to be married.
The latest scandal du jour?
Miss Fiji stunner Torika Watters, the country's one-time candidate to the upcoming Miss World pageant, has reportedly been dethroned for being underage—while also coming under fire for her mixed-race heritage.
MORE: Miss Universe Pageant Allows Transgender Women to Compete
Per Australia's ABC News, Watters was stripped of her title for being 16 years old—the minimum age to join the pageant is 17. "The change is done because of the age criteria whereby Torika will be eligible next year," a rep said in a statement.
Watters' victory, however, reportedly spurred a nasty backlash that the beauty queen, who is part European, didn't look Fijian enough, with several detractors decrying that the country's candidate should have a typically frizzy Fijian hairstyle.
A pageant spokeswoman told the Aussie news service that they've received "nothing but negative criticism and remarks from our own people" about Watters' selection, and that a slew of complaints had to be deleted from the pageant's Facebook page.
"While we appreciate a healthy discussion and feedback on our page, violent or racist comments will not be tolerated," the spokeswoman explained.
MORE: Miss Dominican Republic Carlina Duran Dethroned for Being a Missus!
The pageant's 24-year-old first runner-up, Koini Vakaloloma, will instead rep the country at the Miss World pageant in Mongolia this August.
Watters, meanwhile, has taken to Facebook to air her side of the story, writing: "I had no intentions of doing anything sneaky or wrong and like the other contestants entered the competition for what I believed to be the right reasons - to be an Ambassador for Fiji and raise money for charitable causes."
She also added that she was "proud of my identity as a Fijian and have never considered my people as racists" and that "I...just want to get on with my life."
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