On August 9, the Miss Universe organization spoke out regarding the controversy surrounding the Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 contest.
Accordingly, on the Miss Universe homepage, it affirmed: "Recently, we have learned of allegations related to the Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 contest and the Indonesian franchisee running the contest.
Miss Universe takes allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate behavior very seriously. Providing a safe environment for women is a top priority for the organization and we are looking into this matter."
Miss Universe Indonesia contestant's lawyer publicly released documents about the case to reporters.
Meanwhile, Detik newspaper reported that Jakarta police confirmed that they are investigating after a Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 contestant filed a complaint against the organizing committee for sexual harassment.
The head of the local Department of Youth, Children and Women added that the police will summon the victims to clarify the incident.
Previously, Jakarta Globe reported that on August 7 (local time), a Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 contestant and her lawyer went to the police to report that she and several other beauties were sexually harassed while participating in the contest.
"We believe this is an insult to women's dignity, especially the body check in the presence of the opposite sex," said Mellisa Anggraeni, the contestant's lawyer.
The lawyer asserted that there was a lot of evidence, from documents to photos and videos about the incident. The lawsuit specifically accused Ms. Capella Swastika Karya - the national director of the Miss Universe Indonesia contest and also the national director of Miss Universe Malaysia.
Miss Universe Indonesia organizers accused of forcing contestants to strip naked during anthropometric testing.
Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 is also facing allegations of prize-buying after the coronation of beauty Fabienne Nicole Groneveld.
The new beauty queen is said to have a chubby, cute face but lacks prominence and performance skills. She is also said to not meet the height standard of 1.72 m announced by the Organizing Committee.
Fabienne Nicole Groneveld on the coronation night of Miss Universe Indonesia 2023.
However, Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 confirmed that this information is "baseless and false".
On her personal page, Ms. Capella Swastika Karya also affirmed: "Our contest is organized with strict commitment, and it would be unfair to judge someone based on unimportant standards.
With a strong commitment and based on the quality of the state pageant representatives, I have decided to remove the minimum height standard."
Regarding the sexual harassment allegations, neither Ms. Capella nor the Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 organization responded.
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