MISS ENGLAND has hit back at Miss World bosses after they accused her of lying to escape the pageant.
Milla Magee, 24, walked out on the contest in India after she claimed she and the other finalists were being “exploited”.
The Mega AgencyMilla Magee, 24, walked out on the contest in India after she claimed she and the other finalists were being ‘exploited’[/caption]
She told how they were used to entertain wealthy male “sponsors” at posh dinners in Hyderabad as a “thank you” for the money they pumped into the show.
Milla said she was made to feel “like a prostitute”.
Miss World organiser Julia Morley launched a savage attack on Milla and even released videos of her at the hotel which appear to show her enjoying the experience.
Ms Morley said Milla told bosses she had “a family emergency involving her mother’s health” and that they treated her with “compassion” and arranged her return to England.
MIlla said yesterday: “My mum has had a recent health problem, but I said what I needed to say to get out of there.
“I was feeling vulnerable after the appalling way we had been treated and I just needed to go home, I couldn’t stay in a contest that did not appear to me to be morally right.
“I’m shocked that MIss World have released videos of me at the hotel without my permission, they give an entirely false impression.
“In that situation we had to do what we were told and if someone points a camera in your face and tells you to smile then you are going to do it.
“But the reality was that I was miserable and could not stay to support the Miss World organisation.
“I felt exploited at having to talk to these dignitaries at dinners and one of the contest’s officials clapped in my face after telling me and the other girls we were boring.
“That’s just not an acceptable way to treat people.”
She said her walk-out has drawn support from around the world, including former beauty queens.
Milla, of Newquay, Cornwall, said: “Other past contestants have been in touch to say they felt the same way when they were in Miss World.
“It’s an outdated organisation that just hasn’t moved with the times.”
Milla’s mum Kat Russell was furious to see Miss World claim they helped Milla get home.
She said: “Milla was put in a taxi at 3am and left to find her own way back. I organised the flights for her and paid the £600 air fare. She got no help at all from Miss World.”
A Miss World spokesperson said Milla’s claims were “completely unfounded and inconsistent with the reality of her time with us”.
The spokesperson added: “Earlier this month Milla Magee requested to leave the competition due to a reported family emergency involving her mother’s health.
As a mother and grandmother herself, Julia Morley, Chairman of Miss World, responded to Milla’s situation with compassion and immediately arranged her return to England, placing the well-being of the contestant and her family first.”
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