Miss Universe Organization ends contract with current franchisee in Indonesia amid sexual abuse claims
The Miss Universe Organization released an official statement today regarding its decision to part ways with PT Capella Swastika Karya and Indonesian national director Poppy Capella.
This is amid allegations of sexual harassment from several contestants of the recently concluded Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 competition.
Unfortunately, this also resulted in the cancellation of this year's Miss Universe Malaysia pageant whose license was granted to the same company.
Read the entire statement from MUO:
The Miss Universe Organization has decided to terminate the relationship with its current franchisee in Indonesia, PT Capella Swastika Karya, and its National Director, Poppy Capella.
In light of what we have learned took place at Miss Universe Indonesia, it has become clear that this franchise has not lived up to our brand standards, ethics, or expectations as outlined in our franchise handbook and code of conduct.
Providing a safe place for women is the Miss Universe Organization's utmost priority, and the events at this particular pageant are diametrically opposed to everything we stand for as an organization.
PT Capella Swastika Karya and its principals will not be moving forward with Miss Universe Malaysia 2023, and will not be given any additional contracts within our organization. We will be canceling Miss Universe Malaysia 2023, and will make arrangements for the Indonesia 2023 titleholder to compete in this year's Miss Universe pageant.
We are also evaluating our current franchise agreement as well as our policies and procedures to prevent this type of conduct from occurring and to ensure that future events worldwide remain within the brand standards that we have set out for all of our international franchises.
We also want to make it extremely clear that there are no measurements such as height, weight, or body dimensions required to join a Miss Universe pageant worldwide.
To the women who came forward from the Indonesia pageant - we're sorry that this was your experience with our organization. We appreciate your bravery in speaking out, and we pledge to do better in the future.
To recall, the license for Miss Universe Indonesia previously belongs to Yayasan Puteri Indonesia (YPI) until a new owner was announced in February.
The same team also took over the license for Miss Universe Malaysia and an official launch and press conference that followed was attended by Miss Universe 2022 R'Bonney Gabriel, second runner-up Andreína Martínez, and Top 5 finalist Gabriëla Dos Santos.
A promising relationship between the Indonesian licensee and the Miss Universe Organization was sealed in an official signing ceremony held in Bali.
Under the new national director, a standalone pageant for Miss Universe Indonesia was held on August 3 at the Beach City International Stadium in Jakarta where 23-year-old Fabiënne Nicole Groeneveld emerged as the winner.
Everything seemed perfect until the news came out about the alleged sexual harassment of some contestants that took place during the pageant.
Now that MUO has officially terminated its contract with PT Capella Swastika Karya and Poppy Capella, who will be next to take over the license for Miss Universe Indonesia?
Photo: Miss Universe Indonesia
