Cloud of drama surrounds Miss SVG pageant as calls are made for winner to be stripped of her crown

“Distasteful” but not grounds to be stripped of her crown.

This is the position expressed by the SVG Beauty Shows Committee (BSC) with regard to the social media posts, and resulting fallout, made by the newly crowned Miss SVG, Arena Foy.

Aviar Charles, Chairperson of the Beauty Shows Committee

Days after St Vincent and the Grenadines welcomed a new, national beauty queen, a cloud of drama has settled over her parade. A Twitter post, as well as leaked messages from a contestants’ group chat alleging a “stolen” response that was used by another contestant during the Interview segment of the show, has sent tongues wagging and questions being raised about expected conduct for the holder of the crown.

At a time when the public should be focused on Foy’s victory, as well as her Best Talent category win, the focus has instead shifted to the new Queen’s social media posts. The alleged stolen response has been debated back and forth by social media users and has also been a talking point on local radio stations.

The subsequent social media bacchanal has resulted in a petition being launched on Change.Org demanding Foy’s removal as the queen.

The petition, titled ‘Demand the Removal of Arena Foy as Miss SVG 2023’ claims that the “actions on social media have shown a lack of respect and dignity that is unbecoming of her title. As someone who should be representing our country in the best light possible, her behaviour has been disappointing”.

The petition had garnered 591 signatures at the time of publication, with the hashtag ‘NotMyQueen’ being used by some supporters of the petition. There has also been a call for accountability by the organizers of the show.

Chairperson of the BSC, Aviar Charles, when questioned by SEARCHLIGHT about whether Foy’s online venting has contravened any etiquette or conduct rules set down for the holder of the crown, she said:

“The recent tweet made by the recently crowned Miss SVG although distasteful does not provide sufficient basis to be stripped of her title. While the post may have caused her character to come into disrepute, alleging that another contestant ‘used her thing on stage’, it was not directed to any specific person and as such it did not have ripple effects on the CDC or BSC.”

Charles said the BSC convened a meeting with Foy to inform her on how to “navigate situations which may elicit a response”. Foy is said to have expressed regret at how the situation was handled.

The BSC raised concerns about violations of confidentiality amongst contestants, in light of the circulation of screenshots showing Foy’s messages to other contestants.

“What is of concern to us is the breach of contract with the Beauty Shows Committee and some contestants as it relates to confidentiality where screenshots of messages were shared as well as a recording of a private interview session.”

On Wednesday, October 11, the BSC released a brief statement stating that they were aware of the issues “circulating in the public domain” and their policy is that “contestants should always maintain a respectful environment and safe space for each other” both in private and in public.

The statement by the BSC described “recent actions and allegations” as unacceptable and said that the Committee promised to review the comments with contestants and settle any outstanding issues.

The statement also sought to clarify the drama surrounding the responses to interview questions stating that contestants undergo practice on “numerous versions of questions on the respective topics”.

“In the interest of learning from practice, the young ladies are encouraged to record in writing or otherwise, pointers given on their varying responses. This process was maintained for this year’s pageant.”

The BSC added that contestants are not given the specifics of what the final questions would be on judging night.