Miss Earth contest is removed from the “Grand Slam”

by **Fu Fu** Fri Dec 21, 2012 8:23 am

After consulting several pageant experts and Miss Earth national directors who followed the controversy involving the contest earlier this month, and carefully analyzing the whole situation, Global Beauties has decided to remove Miss Earth from the “Grand Slam of international beauty pageants™”, a system adopted -and registered- by Global Beauties itself in 1999.

Earlier this month, Russian newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda” published an investigative report in which it assures the “Miss Earth” crown can be bought. It shows a video in which Ms. Lorraine Schuck, President of Miss Earth, says that she would accept USD 4 million in exchange for the Miss Earth title. Ms. Schuck later claimed that “she was misunderstood and her words were twisted”, however, the video is clear, and over 90% of the people Global Beauties spoke to agreed that Miss Earth cannot be trusted any longer.

When Global Beauties created the “Grand Slam” system 13 years ago, the main idea was to give proper recognition to the beauty pageants which excelled and were promoted and produced at a level considerably higher above all other contests.

With such report and video, Miss Earth’s reputation was put at stake, and there’s no way Global Beauties can keep on promoting it as one of the premiere beauty competitions on the planet. In addition, serious and new accusations came from Argentina and Ukraine (read here). Both countries’ represnetatives alleged that during this year’s pageant some girls were taken to private parties to mingle with rich businessmen, where they were given alcohol to drink. Miss Ukraine went even further, claiming that there were talks about Miss Czech Republic winning the pageant days before the final event (which ended up happening).

Global Beauties truly believes that corruption should by no means be acceptable, after all, not only the dreams, but also thousands, perhaps millions of dollars are spent by young women who dream of conquering a major beauty title every year.

If other pageant-related websites, blogs, and publications, think that what was reported by the Russian website is acceptable, it is their right and way of seeing what a beauty pageant should act, and their choice to keep on promoting Miss Earth as they wish. GB believes in high morals and respect to the women and promoters involved in beauty pageants.

Among those who Global Beauties has interviewed were the ME national directors of Belgium, Jean-marie Vandecasteele, Netherlands, Katia Maes, New Zealand, Rose Foulger, Argentina, Nadia Cerri; Alan Sim, director of Miss International, from Singapore; pageant experts Hector Joaquin Colon, from Puerto Rico, Luis Trujillo, from the Dominican Republic, Jose Tore, from Spain, João Ricardo Dias, from Brazil, Julio Rodriguez, from Venezuela, Maryna Gudzevata, from Ukraine, Jerome Nell, from South Africa, Damian Stroiński, from Poland, Arturo Garcia-Gallo, from Mexico, among others.

Only one person said Miss Earth should remain in the Grand Slam; two were neutral; all others told us that the evidences against it were crystal clear and that it should be removed immediately. GB staff members shared this same opinion.

We feel very upset about the whole situation, after all, we believed in Miss Earth before other sites did, having given much support and a higher status to this competition when we thought it came to life to innovate and bring new excitment to the world of pageantry when it was accepted into the Grand Slam, in 2002, something that it was able to achieve in its 4 or 5 first years of existence.

Now 5 pageants remain as part of the Grand Slam: Miss World and Miss Universe (The G2), Miss International, Miss Supranational, and Miss Tourism Queen (Grand Prix).

Soon Global Beauties will release its updated Rankings, already without Miss Earth.

GB