A recent controversy has made the Miss Universe Organization decide to break relations with the Indonesian headquarters, due to strong accusations of sexual abuse of contestants by organizers and administrators of Miss Idonesia.
As revealed by their lawyer on August 8th, six of the Miss Universo Indonesia contestants have filed complaints with the police where they accuse the organizers of sexual harassment and assure that they were subjected to body checks while being almost naked.
Miss Universe made a statement on Saturday August 12th where it officially cut ties with the Indonesian franchise and due to this scandal it would cancel this year’s contest, since this problem has caused a lot of indignation among the population of this country who demand to do pay those responsible for these acts.
“It is a fact and it has been evidenced that this franchise has not lived up to the standards, ethics or expectations of our brand, as indicated in our franchise manual and code of conduct,” declared the Miss Universe Organization leaving clear that the safety and comfort of the participants is their priority.
For her part, the director of Miss Indonesia, Poppy Capella, testified in her defense through Instagram where she alleges that she, as the representative and owner of the franchise, was not involved or aware of the abuses that were carried out by the organizers to the participants.
“I make it clear that I, as the national director and license holder of Miss Universe Indonesia, was not involved at all and have never known, ordered, requested or allowed anyone to play a role and participate in the process of organizing Miss Universe. Indonesia 2023 committing sexual harassment through body searches as has been reported“, Capella stated.
