The seedy underbelly of beauty pageants isn't limited to the States. The South China Morning Post reports that Ikumi Yoshimatsu, the winner of last year's prestigious global Miss International beauty pageant in Okinawa, Japan, has been stripped of her crown and banned from this year's ceremony after speaking out about alleged harassment, stalking and threats she had received from a top agency exec.
It seems that Yoshimatsu was pressured to sign with the powerful film company Burning Productions, and turned it down because of rumors that the company was linked to the Yakuza — the Japanese Mafia. It was when she started her own film company that the harassment began. Outrageously, it's Yoshimatsu who has been punished for posting on her Facebook about the ordeal, culminating in the loss of her title. Ultimately, last year's runner-up in the pageant will hand the crown over to the successor.
"Harassment and intimidation from one man has deprived me of the role of Miss International," wrote Yoshimatsu. "I have had to fight back tears of mortification. I can no longer to out alone as I fear I will be killed by someone. Fortunately, I now have security 24 hours a day - but other women who face the same stalking problem as me have no such security."
Follow Anna on Twitter.
Photo Credit: Getty
