A selfie causes a commotion at the Miss Universe pageant.
A photograph taken by Miss Israel winner Doron Matalon with Miss Lebanon winner Saly Greige and two other Miss Universe contestants (Miss Slovenia and Miss Japan) was posted to Instagram on January 11. This photo caused a stir between the two girls and their countries.
Lebanon, a mostly Islamic country, and Israel, which is considered a Jewish land, have been at war for many years. The main conflicts between Lebanon and Israel are based on their shared border. Many acts of guerilla warfare have occurred since 1949, but the action between the two has been light since 2006. Even though the action has been scarce, the hatred between the two countries is still very prevalent.
Miss Israel posted the initial photo with the caption, “Good morning from us! Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia, Miss Lebanon & I.”
This photo brought a lot of talk from the two girl’s countries, which led to Miss Lebanon posting the same photo with Miss Israel cropped out with the caption as, “The truth behind the photo, since the first day of my arrival to participate to Miss Universe, I was very cautious to avoid being in any photo or communication with Miss Israel, who tried several times to take a photo with me. I was having a photo with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia, suddenly Miss Israel jumped in and took a selfie, and uploaded it on her social media, this is what happened and I hope to have your full support in the Miss Universe contest.”
Later Miss Israel responded with a statement on Facebook, “Not that it surprised me, but it’s a shame that we can’t put the hostilities aside, just for three weeks, during which we have a rare opportunity to meet girls from all around the world, to hear about the different cultures and to experience this experience together”
The Miss Universe organization also released a statement after the photo backlash stating that, “At an event with one of our charitable partners, Miss Universe Lebanon and Miss Universe Israel innocently ended up in an impromptu photo together, which was then posted on Instagram. The Miss Universe pageant has always been a celebration of different cultures, welcoming women from all around the globe. It provides an opportunity for the participants to see just how much they have in common. With 88 women from around the world coming together for the Miss Universe pageant, new friendships are forged and we hope that these relationships can make inroads for change in the future. It is unfortunate to know a photo of four smiling women from different parts of the world, working together at an event, could be misconstrued as anything other than what it is, a celebration of universal friendship, which the Miss Universe pageant is all about.”
The 63rd Annual Miss Universe Pageant will air live on January 25, 2015 at 8/7c.