Koini Vakaloloma replaced the winner of the Miss World Fiji who had to give up her crown because she is mixed and looked "different" and too "Western" . 16-year-old Torika Watters was crowned Miss World Fiji last month but her has different looks came under scrutiny, with critics questioning whether she represented Fijian beauty, according to ABC News.


Few weeks after her win, Watters posted on Facebook that pageant director Andhy Blake told her that she been disqualified from representing her country in the Miss World Pageant in China because she is too young to compete. However, she spoke of how he previously assured her that "it was fine" and that he had received a waiver for her to take part. "Andhy Blake first contacted me on FB [Facebook] on the 7th of March to invite me to be a part of the Miss World Fiji Pageant," Watters wrote in a statement on Facebook. "I told him that I would not be turning 17 until next year 2013, and asked if that mattered he said it was fine as he had sought prior approval from the CEO of Miss World Julia Morley."

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However, Blake told the Fiji Times that though Watters was chosen in April to represent Fiji in the Miss World competition, she did not meet the minimum age requirement of 17. "The change is done because of the age criteria whereby Torika will be eligible next year," Blake said in a statement to FijiLive.

Soon after this controversy, Fiji's pageant organizers announced a new winner: Koini Vakaloloma, aged 24, who was the first-runner up in the competition. They then posted on their Facebook page that Watters had "voluntarily" stepped down and that reports connecting the decision with racism or age were "untrue".  The message also said: "Despite all the negative hype surrounding our event, we continue to defend against all allegations and accusations". However, the message was later removed.

Tags: miss world Torika Watters Koini Vakaloloma