E-Paper
BRS condemns ‘gaslighting’ of England's Milla Magee after Miss World exit over alleged ‘exploitation’
Miss England 2024, Milla Magee had quit the Miss World pageant alleging that the organisers were “exploiting” the contestants.
Telangana minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao on Sunday strongly condemned the alleged harassment faced by Miss England 2024 Milla Magee during her visit to the state for the Miss World pageant.
Milla Mageen (24), Miss England 2024, had arrived in Hyderabad for the pageant on May 7 but withdrew from the competition and returned to the UK on May 16, making headlines for stating that she had “felt like a prostitute” during the event.
KT Rama Rao, shared her story in a post on X, and said, “It takes a lot of guts to stand up and call out misogynistic mentality, especially on international forums like the Miss World. You are a very strong woman, Milla Magee and I am truly sorry you had to go through this in our state of Telangana.”
KT Rama Rao claimed that the Telangana experienced by Magee was antithetical to their values of respecting women, citing great women leaders from the state like Rani Rudrama and Chityala Ailamma.
Also Read: Indian women help Miss World contestants wash their feet, video sparks outrage: ‘Colonial hangover’
He added, “Unfortunately, what you had experienced doesn't represent the real Telangana. I hope you do feel better soon. As a father of a girl child, I wish no woman or girl ever has to go through such horrific experiences. Also, I strongly condemn the attitude of victim gaslighting and demand a thorough investigation into the allegations made by Miss England Milla Magee.”
Milla Magee's allegations against Miss World pageant
The 24-year old quit the global pageant, which was being held in Hyderabad, after claiming that she felt “exploited” by the organisers.
“I went there to make a difference, but we had to sit like performing monkeys. It’s stuck in the past. Morally I couldn’t be a part of it. As far as I could see, it hasn’t changed and is stuck in the past. All the crowns and sashes in the world mean nothing compared to using your voice and making a difference in the world,” Magee said, as quoted by The Sun.
She stated that the women were made to sit around and talk to middle-aged men by the organisers, and were being “farmed for entertainment.”
“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. Instead there was weird small-talk that left me feeling uncomfortable,” Magee said.
