‘We were stripped to underwear, photographed topless, told to stand with open legs in a room': Miss Universe contestants

In a shocking development, six Miss Universe Indonesia contestants have accused the pageant organisers of sexual harassment. According to their lawyer, the contestants were allegedly subjected to topless "body checks" by the organizers of the beauty contest. The Indonesian beauty pageant was held in Jakarta from July 29 to August 3. The contestants said in their complaint before the police that the organizers asked five of them to strip to their underwear for ‘body checkup’ in front of over 20 people, including men.

Mellisa Anggraeni, the lawyer of the contestants, said the organizers also took topless photos of the contestants. She added that six contestants had filed formal complaints before the police. Reacting to the development, the Miss Universe Organization released a statement saying that it was aware of the incident and was probing the matter. "Miss Universe takes allegations of sexual abuse and impropriety extremely seriously. Providing a safe place for women is the Miss Universe Organization's utmost priority," it said.

Addressing a press conference, a contestant said that the organizers asked her to stand by opening her legs. "I felt like I was being peeked on, I was very confused and uncomfortable," said the unidentified woman.

Jakarta police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said the contestants have filed the complaints on Monday and the police is probing the incident. It is to be noted that the Miss Universe Organization was bought by Thai media tycoon and transgender rights advocate Jakapong “Anne” Jakrajutatip in 2022 for USD 20 million. Miss Universe Organization was co-owned by former US president Donald Trump between 1996 and 2002 and the contest has been running since 1952.