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Women hoping to represent Indonesia at the Miss Universe pageant have filed police complaints after claiming they were forced to undergo "body checks."
Six women who competed in the Miss Universe Indonesia pageant have accused organizers of sexual harassment, according to Reuters.
Five of them alleged that they were forced to strip down to their underwear for the "body checks" and then photographed topless. They claimed this happened in a room with more than 20 people, including men, in it.
The pageant was held in the nation's capital, Jakarta, from July 29 until August 3.
One of the women described being asked to pose inappropriately, including by opening her legs.
"I felt like I was being peeked on, I was very confused and uncomfortable," she said in an interview on Indonesian television network, Kompas TV.
The women's lawyer, Mellisa Anggraeni, told media the body inspections were completely unnecessary.
Newsweek has contact Anggraeni by email for comment.
Police confirmed they had received complaints of sexual harassment from six women.
Jakarta police spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said police had received a report from the contestants on Monday and planned to investigate the claims.
The Indonesian Miss Universe competition is owned by local entrepreneur Poppy Capella, and Newsweek attempted to contact her and the pageant organizers via social media for comment.
Fabienne Nicole Groeneveld was crowned the winner in Jakarta, beating off 28 other hopefuls.
The 72nd Miss Universe finals will be held in El Salvador in November.
Thai media tycoon Jakaphong Jakrajutatip bought the Miss Universe pageant in 2022 for $20 million. Newsweek emailed her via her company JKN Global Group about the allegations.
The Miss Universe pageant has existed since 1952 and was co-owned by Donald Trump between 1996 to 2015. He also co-owned the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.
The former U.S. president was accused of harassment by Miss Universe competitors, with claims that he walked into dressing rooms whether they were clothed or not.
Trump claimed in a 2005 interview on The Howard Stern Show that he could "get away with things like that" because he owned the pageants.
The race to the Miss Universe finals in El Salvador has been making plenty of headlines in recent weeks.
The Netherlands crowned its first transgender winner in July. Rikkie Valerie Kollé, 22, will become the second transgender Miss Universe finalist after Angela Ponce, who represented Spain in 2018.
Only weeks after Kollé's triumph, Italy banned transgender women from competing in its national pageant.
The patron of the Miss Italy competition declared contestants "must be a woman from birth," to be eligible.
"Lately, beauty contests have been trying to make the news by also using strategies that I think are a bit absurd," Miss Italy Official Patron Patrizia Mirigliani said last month during an interview with Radio Cusano, Il Primato Nazionale reported, according to a translation from Google.
Update 08/08/2023, 11:10 a.m. ET. This story has been updated with more information.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more