A petition to have Samantha Katie James stripped of her Miss Universe Malaysia title has garnered over 86k signatures (as at time of writing) and counting.
In speaking with Malay Mail, Elaine Daly – who’s the national director of Miss Universe Malaysia Organisation (MUMO) – said that Samantha’s racist comments were “horrendous”.
Elaine said that the controversial episode “has affected the pageant’s reputation but I hope people see beyond that — this is just one girl who has made a statement like this. She’s affiliated with us because of the title but we no longer represent her, we have really nothing to do with her anymore actually.”
The 43-year-old also said that MUMO and Samantha have not been on good terms ever since 2018, after she opted out of 3-year contract. (For those who don’t know, Samantha showed alleged evidence of Elaine fat-shaming her.)
“I did not expect this especially three years down the road after she finished her reign with us for us to get this kind of backlash,” the host shared. The Miss Malaysia Universe 2003 added that MUMO is “not about putting a girl in a bikini and it’s not just having a pretty face there. It’s giving you a pedestal, a voice to speak out about the right things, not the wrong things like what she (Samantha) has done.”
When asked if MUMO will proceed to revoke Samantha’s title, Elaine replied that isn’t sure if that can be done. “Her contract with us is over and this is unprecedented. Nobody has ever won a title and been stripped of it, I don’t know what the legal consequences are so it’s not so easy just to say ‘Okay, I strip you of your title’, there’s so much that goes into it,” she told the publication.
Having said that, Samantha has since issued a public apology over what she said is prepared to accept responsibility for her words. Although many have condemned her actions, several celebs are also urging netizens not to resort to cyberbullying and personal attacks.
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Source: Malay Mail.
