Search 'Miss Universe 2025' and chances are you will come across many headlines pointing to controversies surrounding the pageant. Now, the latest one to make headlines is Miss Universe Estonia Brigitta Schaback renouncing her title of 'Miss Universe Estonia'. She announced her decision via an Instagram post where she mentioned about her discomfort working with national director Natalie Korneitsik.
Apparently, Schaback thinks that her value system doesn't align with that of management's. This explains why she has taken the decision to renounce her title and the responsibilities that came with it. Schaback has always advocated for causes like women empowerment and equality. She mentions that she's giving away her title, but she will continue to advocate for the things she believes in in her individual capacity.
Take a look at the post:
The caption of her post read, "I am stepping down from the title of Miss Universe Estonia. My values and work ethics don't align with those of the national director, Natalie Korneitsik. My commitment is to women's empowerment and equality, and I will continue this work independently without any further association with Miss Universe Estonia.”
Also read: Miss Universe 2025 row deepens as second judge resigns days before finale
In fact, just a few days back, Schaback and Miss Universe Vietnam Nguyen Huong had accused the management of Miss Universe for not being able to create a conducive environment to push for women empowerment. So much so, Schaback in her Instagram stories mentioned that she had "signed up for the wrong pageant" and she was allegedly told to "stay silent and obey" at all times.
Explaining on her stance why she thought she had signed up for the wrong pageant, Schaback shared on one of her Instagram stories that she was asked to disclose her status, even though the global tilt said that "mothers and married women" were welcome to compete. “Even though the rules claim that mothers and married women are welcome, I’ve come to realize that this isn’t the reality. If my family status is not supposed to matter, then why am I asked to disclose it as a contestant? On contestant application forms, at registration and during the interviews for the jury,” she wrote on one of her Instagram stories.
Following this, she told in one of her statements that, "This goes against my core values. I signed up for the wrong pageant. Anyone advocating for women empowerment or equality should know this kind of discrimination is the complete opposite of this. I was so scared to speak up. I still am. But how can I stay silent, it feels like ripping my own spine,” she said.
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