Cuba’s Yeniffer Marin goes off on social media claiming Miss Intercontinental pageant is a fraud
Miss Intercontinental Cuba Yeniffer Marin posted photos of herself with a dirty finger, saying that the pageant is a fraud.
In a series of posts and stories, the Havana-born beauty queen, who "grew up with a discipline in which learning does not occupy space," expressed her disappointment with the organization, claiming that her costume was sabotaged and that the Miss Intercontinental pageant is a scam.
"RIP to my desire to participate in a fraud again. Thank you to @missintercontinentalofficial for teaching me that #powerofbeauty is to have money, power and influential direction," the veteran beauty queen wrote without naming anyone, with the hashtags #missintercontinental #egypt.
Marin says that she is not the type of person "who stays quiet," and that she "won't lower my head or my crown, just because they threaten me." She adds that she's using her "freedom of expression" in doing this.
In one of her posts, she shared a photo of her National Costume, saying it was the "last time I saw my wings" because they disappeared.
"Mine never appeared, broken and even certain people made fun of what happened [sic]," Marin said in an Instagram story reposting @misspremiumcuba's post that alleges that Miss Cuba and Miss Venezuela's wings "were found dumped in a garbage dump."
Marin said in the post: "I am very sorry if they wanted to put on a whole show when the words are obvious and clear that I have never attacked any of the candidates."
"You do not know how much we lived, what what we went through, what we saw, they weren't there, we didn't even have an audience," she added.
Marin said her goal was to send a message, not to win. "I never wanted to go to win or anything and this photo says it all, I went to take a message, but playing with the feelings, money and time of other girls is not fair, I am not responsible for what they want to interpret."
Others believe that her post was pertaining to Miss Canada Kailyn Li, who placed fifth in the pageant and won the Power of Beauty award, and Miss Intercontinental 2021 Cindy Obeñita of the Philippines.
But Marin clarified in her stories that it was not Obeñita she was talking about, but the latter's fans took offense.
Miss Intercontinental Spain Veronica Baron defended Li and Obeñita and condemned Marin's acts. She says that "a true queen never speaks bad about other women," but instead "accepts defeat and sees it as a personal growth, life experience and evolution."
Baron added Li and Obeñita deserve their awards because "they are pure, classy and hard working women."
"They are both the definition of Power of Beauty, and that’s the reason I became friends with them," she said, adding she doesn't understand how people can talk negatively about the ladies without even having the chance to converse with them. Baron also said that the organization has always been "excellent to us, treating us as queens always with kindness and respect."
"I understand some people need to learn that you can’t always win in life, but the least you could do is to have some respect for other’s hard work. Remember to be kind to one another, is it that hard?" Baron said.
Meanwhile, Miss Intercontinental Cuba and its franchise holder, Belleza Nacional Cuba, released a statement, saying they are "deeply saddened" by Marin's actions.
"We are extremely sorry to our Filipino community and Miss Intercontinental Organization. As an organization we do no condone or celebrate this type of behavior. We as an organization believe that queens need to support queens, empower women, and carry their flags with respect because that is a privilege and not a right. This has never happened within our organization as we have had outstanding candidates in the past," they wrote.
They also asked the community to accept their apology and promised that this kind of act will never happen again.
"Our Cuban women are strong and leaders in their communities, therefore we are deeply sorry once again. We wholeheartedly Congratulate, Cindy Obenita for her win as Miss Intercontinental 2021."
The Philippines' Obeñita won the Miss Intercontinental pageant last Oct. 29 in Egypt.
