Miss England dropped out of the 72nd Miss World pageant in Telangana, India, criticizing the "outdated" competition for exploiting and objectifying its contestants.
24-year-old Milla Magee originally attributed her May 16 departure to "personal reasons," but revealed exactly why she "couldn't take it anymore" in a bombshell interview with The Sun.
"I went out to make a difference," Magee said. "Never in a million years did I expect to find myself in that situation. We were there to please these people and sit like performing monkeys."
Magee said the contestants were instructed to wear makeup and gowns at all times, even breakfast. After one event, an official reportedly scolded Milla and her peers for being "boring" at an event.
She reached her limit at a dinner where pairs of contestants were assigned to tables of six men, who they were told to "entertain" for the evening as a "thank you" for their financial contributions to the show.
"I remember thinking, 'This is so wrong. I didn't come here to be farmed out for people's entertainment,'" Magee recalled. "They made me feel like a prostitute."
"At one point I tried to talk about the causes I was supporting, but it was obvious the men at the table were not interested," she told The Sun. "Instead there was weird small-talk that left me feeling uncomfortable."
A lifeguard, surfer, and England's first plus-size Miss World candidate, Magee emphasized her commitment to Miss England's mission to embody "beauty with purpose." She's used her platform to highlight her CPR awareness campaign, and attended pageants makeup-free to empower young women to embrace their natural beauty. But at Miss World, she felt reduced to her appearance and pressured to conform.
"Morally, I couldn't be a part of it," she told the tabloid. "All the crowns and sashes in the world mean nothing compared to using your voice and making a difference."
Magee's position in Miss World has been filled by the runner-up of the Miss England pageant, who will compete in the final on May 31 alongside 107 other contestants.
Originally published on Latin Times
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