Miss World contestant walks out of pageant citing alleged harassment in India

English beauty queen Milla Magee has walked out of the Miss World competition, claiming she was harassed by the organisers in the host country, India.

As reported by foreign media, Milla Magee, 24, Miss England 2024, who was set to represent the country at the 72nd edition of Miss World, one of the big four beauty pageants, on May 31, in Hyderabad, India, has dramatically quit the pageant, citing ethical concerns and harassment from organisers, in country’s Southern state of Telangana.

“I went there to make a difference, but we had to sit like performing monkeys,” Magee, a lifeguard by profession, from Newquay, Cornwall, told a UK newspaper, after she quit the competition, less than a week before the final event.

“As far as I could see, it hasn’t changed and is stuck in the past. Morally, I couldn’t be a part of it,” the beauty queen added. “All the crowns and sashes in the world mean nothing compared to using your voice and making a difference in the world.”

Magee, who had earlier shared that the beauty queens were told to wear make-up 24/7 and ball gowns all day, including at the breakfast table, mentioned that her final straw came when they were told to entertain middle-aged men as a ‘thank you’ for their sponsorship of the show.

“There were two girls to each table of six guests. We were expected to sit with them for the whole evening and entertain them as a thank you,” she recalled. “I found that unbelievable. I remember thinking, ‘This is so wrong. I didn’t come here to be farmed out for people’s entertainment’.”

“Miss World is supposed to have the same values, but it’s outdated and stuck in the past. They made me feel like a prostitute,” she claimed. “We were there to please these people and sit like ­performing monkeys. I couldn’t stand it.”

“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,” Magee explained and shared that she was even termed ‘boring’ after the aforementioned event.

“She clapped her hands right in my face to get my attention and as a signal for people to listen to her. It was so disrespectful, like she was addressing children rather than a coach full of adult women,” reigning Miss England said about a pageant organiser. “It was a small incident, but it showed what they really thought of us and how little respect we were being treated with.”

Milla Magee quit the competition after this and returned to her home in Newquay, allowing Miss England runner-up, Charlotte Grant, 25, from Liverpool, to take her place in Miss World 2025.

Notably, 108 beauty queens from all over the world will compete for the coveted title on Saturday, May 31, at the final event, held at Hyderabad’s HITEX Exhibition Centre, where Miss World 2024, Krystyna Pyszková of the Czech Republic, will crown her successor.

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