Miss England Quits Miss World Contest Alleging Exploitation; Telangana Govt Launches Probe
Hyderabad: The Telangana government took swift action on Sunday (May 25) to troubleshoot and deploy three senior woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to inquire into charges of 'exploitation and disrespect' by Miss England 2024, Milla Magee, at the ongoing Miss World pageant in Hyderabad.
Shikha Goel, the Director General of Police (crimes) who is also in-charge of the women safety wing, as well as Saisree, the Deputy Inspector General of Police of the same wing and the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Special Branch, Cyberabad, where the beauty contest is being held at a star hotel, videographed the statements of nearly 50 participants to vouch for Magee's serious remarks that has left the government rattled. The officers were asked to submit a report to the government on Monday (May 26).
Chief minister A. Revanth Reddy, who was in New Delhi for the NITI Aayog meeting at the time, was in regular contact with organisers and officials after ordering the probe as it involved national pride and prestige.
'Farmed out for entertainment'
In an interview to British tabloid The Sun after she quit the contest and returned home, the 24-year-old contestant said that "she felt like a prostitute" and was "farmed out for entertainment" by Miss World organisers. She decided to take a stand after being paraded in front of wealthy male persons.
She branded the show "outdated and stuck in the past" and said some of the 109 finalists who remained in the fray were berated for being "boring".
She also claimed that the contenders were told to wear makeup 24x7 and dress in ball gowns all day, including at breakfast. However, she said the final straw was when they were told to entertain middle-aged men as a "thank you" for the money they put into the show as sponsors.
"There were two girls at each table of six guests. We were expected to sit with them (guests) for the whole evening and entertain them as a thank you. Miss World is supposed to have the same values (of sixties and seventies), but it's outdated and stuck in the past. They made me feel like a prostitute," the contestant said.
"We were there to please these people and sit like performing monkeys. I couldn't stand it," she said, adding that one official reprimanded them for being "boring" after an event.
"At one point, I tried to talk about the causes I was supporting but it was obvious the men at the table were not interested. Instead, there was weird small talk that left me feeling uncomfortable. I went out to make a difference, to help create a different future, perhaps inspire young people. Never in a million years did I expect to find myself in that situation", she said.
Magee also described being publicly reprimanded by a pageant official after an event. She said, "She (the official) clapped her hands right in my face to get my attention. It was so disrespectful, like she was addressing children rather than a coach full of adult women".
"It was a small incident but it showed what they really thought of us and how little respect we were being treated with", The Sun quoted Milla as saying.
A dinner was hosted by the government on May 13 at Chowmahalla Palace, the official residence of the erstwhile dynasty of Nizams of Hyderabad, in the old city. Milla shared the table with Miss Wales 2024 and some others.
She had arrived in Hyderabad on May 7, three days before the pageant started off with a grand inauguration at an auditorium. The event was a mix of visits by participants to several tourism spots in Telangana to promote the state globally and components of the competition leading to the grand finale on May 31.
On May 16, a day after the dinner, Milla told the organisers that she was standing down citing "personal and ethical" concerns and flew home to Newquay, Cornwall, after talking to her mother. On short notice, her place in the final was replaced by last year’s Miss England runner-up Charlotte Grant.
Milla was on a campaign to promote awareness about Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) which was supported by Prince of Wales William as part of the Miss World contest. She even gave a demonstration of CPR while performing musical notes at the competition.
'Completely unfounded'
After Milla's interview in The Sun, Julia Morley, chairperson and CEO of the Miss World Organisation, issued a clarification that "these claims were completely unfounded and inconsistent" with the reality of the competition.
In a statement, Morley explained that Milla initially requested to leave due to a reported family emergency involving her mother's health. As a mother and grandmother herself, she said she responded to Milla's situation with compassion and immediately arranged her return to England, placing the well being of the contestant and her family first".
The organisation released unedited videos recorded during Milla's stay in India in which she expressed gratitude, joy and appreciation for her experience at the competition. “These videos reflect her own words and sentiments, and serve as a direct contradiction to the recent false narratives,” it said, adding that "Miss World remains committed to truth, dignity, and the values of Beauty With a Purpose," which Milla dismissed as outdated.
In one of the clippings, Milla was heard saying, "I am grateful to Telangana for hosting me here. It was amazing, as soon as we arrived and touched down over the plane, we didn't have to lift a finger. Everyone was asking if they could do anything for us. They are all so accommodative. The gratitude and hospitality is so overwhelming. The 'biryani and curry' here is so wonderful. I have been eating too much since coming. You have to stop me from that. My eyes are open to the first week and we still have three weeks to explore here."
Meanwhile, the three woman IPS officers who reached the hotel on Sunday carried out a thorough investigation into circumstances faced by the participants at their places of stay and during their outings. The probe focused on the "table episode" that Milla had raised. They questioned Miss Wales, Julia Morley and Special Chief Secretary of Tourism Jayesh Ranjan who is the pointsman for the event on behalf of the state government and other officials.
Jayesh Ranjan told media persons that Milla's charges were totally baseless. He said she was in the city for only eight days. None of the participants complained of confronting anything uncomfortable. Milla and Miss Wales seated together at a table at Chowmahalla along with an IAS officer, his wife, daughter-in-law and a woman friend.
He said, "We reviewed the CCTV footage from that night. It clearly shows that Milla Magee was seated with one man and four women, the gentleman being a senior IAS officer, accompanied by others. He is known for his impeccable reputation and professionalism. To suggest he made any inappropriate advances, especially in the presence of his family members is absurd and unbelievable."
He added that he himself spoke to over a dozen contestants from various countries, including Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their experiences were completely contradictory to what Miss England has alleged.
Miss Wales also rejected the claim and said that no one misbehaved with them. The only discomfort on the occasion, she said, was when too many people gathered to take selfies with the beauty queens.
The Chowmahalla cultural evening and dinner was part of three formal social events organised for the contestants to interact with selected guests; the others being a visit to Ramoji Film City on May 17 and high tea at Telangana Secretariat on May 18. All three events had a curated guest list which were personally selected by Ranjan. Milla only attended the first one before quitting the pageant.
Miss World organisers said they also tried to talk to Milla in England to get to the truth.
The incident took a political turn locally with the working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi, K.T. Rama Rao, demanding an impartial and thorough investigation.
Expressing shock over Milla's experience on Telangana’s soil, citing its has a rich culture of respecting women, Rao said he was distressed over her plight as the father of a daughter. He expressed his apologies on behalf of people of the state.
He condemned the government's approach of attempting to blame the victim instead of probing her allegations.
The BRS also raised another incident earlier when a local girl cleaned the feet of a contestant with cloth when the team was on a visit to the UNESCO-recognised Ramappa temple. The contestants were made to sit on a platform and wash their feet in larger bronze plates before entering the temple. One of them found herself at odds when the girl stepped in to help. The BRS protested that it amounted to the breach of self-respect of womanhood in the state.
So far in Miss World, competitions have been held to judge sports, talent and head-to-head challenges. The semi-finals are on Monday where the contestants will showcase their social service activities to the jury. Miss India 2024 Nandini Gupta is in the competition.
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