Miss Papua New Guinea stripped of her crown for posting dance video on TikTok

Lucy Maino (Centre) (Image: Facebook/ Miss PNG Pacific Islands)

Lucy Maino, who was crowned Miss Papua New Guinea in 2019, has been stripped of her crown for sharing an “indecent” dance video on TikTok.

The 25-year-old beauty pageant winner had put up a video of herself twerking on TikTok, which drew criticism from several corners for being “inappropriate”.

Maino, who has also served as the co-captain of the women’s football team of her country, was trolled online for sharing the twerking video on TikTok, even though such videos are very common on the platform.

Maino’s now-deleted video was downloaded from her private TikTok account and shared across social media platforms and even on YouTube. It drew the attention of critics who held that such a dance video did not befit a “role model”.

Lucy Maino was eventually “released” from her duties as Miss Papua New Guinea this week by the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant PNG (MPIP PNG) committee. Her role involved her acting as a cultural ambassador for the country.

The Guardian quoted the committee as saying: “Our core purpose is empowerment of women. We are a unique pageant style platform that promotes cultural heritage, traditional values and sharing through tourism about our country and people.”

The United Nations in Papua New Guinea condemned the move and wrote on Facebook: “We see the devastation of violence against women and children in this beautiful country. Some through bullying have lost their lives … It starts with telling women they should cover up. It starts with telling women, they shouldn’t dance like that.”