A beauty pageant turned ugly for a 23-year-old representing Edmonton last weekend in Surrey, B.C.
Ziyah Karmali, Miss Edmonton, was one of 32 women vying for the opportunity to represent Canada in the Miss World 2010 competition in November.
She was doing exceptionally well in the competition, having already won the awards for top fundraiser, top promotions and Miss Friendship, when she was given a golden ticket into the semifinals with the people’s choice award.
But that’s when it all went wrong.
“They gave me the people’s choice award, but they called the wrong girl up to stand in the semifinals lineup,” said a disappointed Karmali. “All my adrenaline started pumping and I was thinking, ‘Maybe they’re going to call me next,’ but they never called my name. It was kind of a mess.”
Karmali and her supporters approached the director, Katherine Grefner of Upstage This!
Productions, after the show. They were told that someone would look into it, but no public announcement has been made and Karmali has not received an apology.
“It was a horrible experience,” Karmali said. “If it’s going to be the same production company putting on the show, I don’t feel respected by them and I definitely won’t be supporting them again next year.”
Metro Edmonton attempted to contact representatives from Upstage This! Productions yesterday but did not get a response.
