Miss Finland stripped of title after ‘racist’ gesture sparks backlash
Miss Finland apologises for ‘racist’ slanted-eye gesture photo
- Finland's Miss Universe representative, Sarah Dzafce, sparked international outrage by sharing a photograph performing a slanted eye gesture considered racist towards East Asians.
- The image, captioned 'eating with a Chinese', led to Ms Dzafce being stripped of her Miss Finland title, though she apologised and attributed the caption to a friend.
- Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo publicly condemned the gesture as 'thoughtless and stupid', stating it had damaged Finland's international reputation and that he does not accept racism.
- Two Finnish Members of Parliament further exacerbated the controversy by posting similar gestures in support of Ms Dzafce, drawing additional criticism and an apology from one.
- The incident resulted in boycott calls against Finnair, Finland's national airline, which subsequently issued a statement disassociating itself from the racist actions and affirming its values of respect.