Finland's delegate to last month's Miss Universe pageant held in Thailand sparked a racism firestorm over a viral photo that showed her pulling the corners of her eyes. Sarah Dzafce, who has been dethroned, uploaded the photo with the caption eating with a Chinese. The slanted-eyes pose is often seen as disrespectful to East Asians. The post drew backlash in Japan, South Korea, and China against the 22-year-old and even against her country's flag carrier, Finnair. Back home in Finland, the prime minister said on Monday making such gestures was thoughtless and stupid and that the ensuing controversy was damaging to the country.
Ms. Dzafce claimed the gesture was her reaction to a headache during dinner. She claimed a friend added the offensive caption to the 11 December post without her consent. She has since apologized, noting it has caused ill will in many people. Her apology was met with criticism, with some calling it insincere because it was in Finnish, stating that many outside Finland would not understand it.
Further complicating matters, two right-wing Finnish MPs showed their support for her by mimicking her gesture but later removed those posts after backlash. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned their actions as childish. The Finns Party is considering potential sanctions for the MPs' actions. Meanwhile, Finnair has stated that the controversy is affecting the airline, with calls for tourists to boycott Finland.
The incident has stirred conversations about racism in Finnish society, with petitions and responses from the Finnish embassy highlighting the ongoing challenge. As a response, the Miss Finland Organisation acknowledged that Ms. Dzafce's actions were detrimental, stating that Miss Finland holds a position of role-model status, which requires respecting all people regardless of their origin, background, or appearance.\
Ms. Dzafce claimed the gesture was her reaction to a headache during dinner. She claimed a friend added the offensive caption to the 11 December post without her consent. She has since apologized, noting it has caused ill will in many people. Her apology was met with criticism, with some calling it insincere because it was in Finnish, stating that many outside Finland would not understand it.
Further complicating matters, two right-wing Finnish MPs showed their support for her by mimicking her gesture but later removed those posts after backlash. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned their actions as childish. The Finns Party is considering potential sanctions for the MPs' actions. Meanwhile, Finnair has stated that the controversy is affecting the airline, with calls for tourists to boycott Finland.
The incident has stirred conversations about racism in Finnish society, with petitions and responses from the Finnish embassy highlighting the ongoing challenge. As a response, the Miss Finland Organisation acknowledged that Ms. Dzafce's actions were detrimental, stating that Miss Finland holds a position of role-model status, which requires respecting all people regardless of their origin, background, or appearance.\
