"I am deeply saddened by the proportions that this episode takes, but what would be the interest for the organization Miss France to exclude a young girl who is involved in the fight against breast cancer? "The throat tied, Sylvie Tellier, the general manager of the company Miss France, finds herself at the heart of a controversy which she would have done well. The reason: the eviction even before the election of Anaëlle Guimbi, a candidate for the election of Miss Guadeloupe for having posed naked, her chest covered with makeup and jewelry. A photo intended to raise awareness to fight against breast cancer. It is the young 20-year-old woman who announced her sidelining on her Instagram account, by reposting the pictures in question, three days ago.
“The photos you see turn out to be against the values of Miss France. The rules are what they are, I bow but I will always continue to defend the values that are dear to me such as this fight against breast cancer, ”she commented in a“ liked ”post on Monday by more than 20,000 people.
Sandra Bisson, the president of the Miss Guadeloupe committee, said on radio Guadeloupe 1re, that it was only "a matter of regulation" applied "to the letter". Not enough to extinguish the fire of criticism, from Françoise Laborde, journalist and founder of the association For women in the media (PFDM) to Valérie Trierweiler through the former Miss Alexandra Rosenfeld. "We are in 2020, this kind of commitment should be welcomed rather than punished" commented the former beauty queen on her Instagram account.
"The rules are very precise, to run for a Miss election, you must not have participated in photos, audiovisual recordings or any event exposing the private parts of a candidate," explains Sylvie Tellier. It seems to me that wanting to preserve the privacy of our candidates is not retrograde. However, these photos remain at the discretion of the organization as each case is different. For each question, you need to have the context to be able to decide on a case-by-case basis ”
And to recall: “We advise the candidates to show us the photos on which they would have doubts and to tell us their story. Unfortunately, Anaëlle did not have the opportunity, until someone transmitted these pictures a few hours before the election. The heads of committees, mostly volunteers, are not police officers, it is not up to them to go and dig into the girls' past… ”
"Photos that are not obscene or biased"
In an open letter, the presidents of the Amazons network which supports women suffering from cancer, nevertheless said they were "disappointed and surprised that the young Guadeloupe is eliminated from the competition for photos that are not obscene or tendentious. "" The breast should not always be sexualized, and it is very important to get our message across that young women in their twenties get involved in our cause and communicate on social networks, where the young women, argues Alexandra Harnais, founder of the Projet Amazones network. We need women with visibility to mobilize. Moreover, we are in contact with Anaëlle, and she intends to continue to invest. She will represent our organization during Pink October (Editor's note: screening awareness campaign) this fall. "
The year 2020 is definitely turning into a puzzle for the election of Miss France, who had to review the whole procedure, in particular by setting up video candidatures during confinement. "With the Covid, the elections take place in complicated conditions, I was not there in Guadeloupe and there is a 6 hour time difference," continues Sylvie Tellier. Starting from a good intention, we did not want to take the risk of an annulment of the election if there was an ex post facto appeal. In fact, we just lacked the time and information to appreciate the context. I regret. It is a really unfair trial because we have an association Les belles fées which works daily to help cancer patients in the centers in Nancy, Lyon and soon in Lille. "
"Anaëlle will come to the metropolis"
The director of the committee and the dismissed candidate may well meet to settle the controversy. “Anaëlle will come to France, it would be great if Sylvie Tellier received us. Gran nonm paka wont, as the saying goes in Martinican Creole. This means Grownups need not be ashamed "we could be wrong," continues Alexandra Harnais of the Amazones network.
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"I had it several times on the phone, it is not easy to find yourself in the heart of such a controversy and I want at all costs to accompany him in this ordeal, assures the boss of the Miss. I hope she understood the committee's position. Obviously, I will be delighted to meet her, just like the Amazones association with which the Guadeloupe committee works regularly. Some people ask us to take action but we didn't have time because the election has already passed. And in the meantime, we are not going to dismiss Kenza, the young girl who was elected Miss Guadeloupe, that would be too unfair. "