Newly crowned Miss Universe Victoria Kjaer Theilvig is facing intense criticism after a TikTok video showed her using a racial slur.
Theilvig, representing Denmark, won the 73rd Miss Universe title on November 16th in Mexico City, where she competed against 120 other beauty pageant hopefuls. Her selection as the winner was seen as a victory for the ‘anti-woke’ after the 2023 competition featured married, plus-sized, and transgender contestants.
In a video posted from the Empire State Building, the Denmark pageant star sang along to Jay-Z’s ‘Empire State of Mind,’ which includes the N-word.
Social media users quickly condemned Theilvig’s use of the slur, calling for her to apologize and be stripped of her title.
‘Runner up, you’re up, this one is DONE,’ said one disgusted user.
‘In the crown at that omg,’ said another, shocked that she would have the audacity to present the Miss Universe organization in such a way.
‘I feel like she needs to be decrowned an apology is not enough,’ said TikTok user Majin Mo, who created a video questioning whether Theilvig would even apologize.
Theilvig, representing Denmark, won the 73rd Miss Universe title on November 16th in Mexico City, where she competed against 120 other beauty pageant hopefuls.The Miss Universe organization and Theilvig herself have yet to publicly address the controversy.
Some speculate that the incident may go unpunished, given past statements by CEO Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, the first trans woman to fully own the Miss Universe organization, who has expressed controversial views on diversity and inclusion.
Jakrajutatip has previously said in a leaked video that while diverse women can compete in the pageant, they ‘cannot win.’
‘The trans women, the women with husbands, divorced women… This is a communication strategy, because, you understand… they can compete, but they cannot win. We just put the policy out there. Social inclusion, as people would say,’ the Thai media mogul said in the video.
When discussing the evolution of the Miss Universe pageant, the CEO recently stated that the competition has already reached its peak, reports Business Insider.
‘Evolution? We have blond and blue eyes, so we’re coming to the ultimate evolution already. We don’t need any more evolution here. We already got the best here,’ the controversial CEO said.
This year’s Miss Universe pageant saw a return to tradition, with a cisgender woman taking the crown.
This comes after recent years of increasing inclusivity, including the participation of transgender contestants like Miss Spain 2018 Angela Ponce and Miss Netherlands 2022 Rikkie Valerie Kolle.
If a petition is successful raised and passed against Miss Theilvig, Chidinma Adetshina of Nigeria would be crowned the new Miss Universe as she is the first runner-up.
