Manshika Prasad, 24, an MBA student, had just been crowned Miss Fiji and was standing on stage carrying a bouquet of flowers.
To say that the events that transpired over the next few days were ugly could be an understatement: contestants were crowned and deposed, outrageous accusations were made, and at some point, a mysterious individual who had a close personal relationship to one of the participants emerged.
Two days after her victory, Ms. Prasad received a press release from Miss Universe Fiji (MUF), which was the first indication that anything was awry. A “serious breach,” it claimed.
Ms. Prasad was informed a few hours later that she would not be going to Mexico to compete for the Miss Universe title in November.
Instead, thirty-year-old Sydney model and real estate developer Nadine Roberts, whose mother is Fijian, would take her place as the runner-up.
According to the press statement, Ms. Prasad was selected in a rigged ballot that favored a “Fiji Indian” competitor to win since it would benefit the event manager monetarily. It further claimed that the “correct procedures” had not been followed.
In a message released in tears, Ms. Prasad announced that she would be taking a vacation from social media and cautioned that there was “so much the public did not know about.”
