Beauty queen says Emirates revoked her job offer due to a previous eating disorder

Madison Kvaltin said that as a 'pageant girl' all of her philanthropy is about eating disorder awareness as she struggled in her youth with a very severe eating disorder that had her hospitalised for a while. (Image credit: @madisonkvetlana/Instagram)

A beauty queen, who won Miss Universe Canada in 2023, has said that she was selected as a prospective flight attendant for Emirates but the airline revoked her job offer after she disclosed her previous struggles with an eating disorder, in a TikTok video, Business Insider reported.

"I am disgusted at what I just went through and the process of being hired to one of the greatest, most prestigious airlines out there," Madison Kvaltin said in the video where she explained how during her onboarding for the job, she was told she didn't meet some of the requirements to fit the role.

She added that she underwent a "lengthy" application process with Emirates before getting hired, and was going through the onboarding process where she had to submit a series of documents, including an "intrusive" health screening document.

"Then they sent me this extremely detailed and intrusive health document that I had to submit all this information on my personal health and a lot of things that had nothing to do with my ability to complete the job," Kvaltin said. "And so one of the questions was have you ever struggled with an eating disorder and as many of you may know I'm a pageant girl and all of my philanthropy is about eating disorder awareness as I struggled in my youth with a very severe eating disorder that had me hospitalised for a little while."

She added that in the form she indicated that she did previously experience an eating disorder, but had recovered completely.

But a few days before posting the video, Kvaltin said she received an email saying she "didn't meet the precondition requirements" and that they are no longer onboarding her. "In the time the only thing that changed was I indicated that I struggle with an eating disorder. So I am disgusted that they are discriminating against me for struggling with an eating disorder that has nothing to do with completing the job of being a flight attendant," she said in the video.

In a statement, Emirates told Business Insider: "We cannot disclose nor discuss information relating to individual candidates who have applied for roles in our organisation."

The publication, however, noted that Emirates is known for having a strict dress code and requirements for its flight attendants which included being punished with pay cuts if deemed overweight.

Read more: Indian woman on Emirates plane that landed back in Dubai after 13 hours of flying