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Image showing corner of Dzafce’s eyes stretched back, ‘eating with a Chinese’ caption went viral in November
Sarah Dzafce was removed as Miss Finland after an image went viral of her with a slanted-eye gesture considered racist. Photo by Sarah Dzafce /Instagram
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A woman who represented Finland at the Miss Universe contest last month was stripped of her country’s title following outrage over a slanted-eyes gesture that went viral.
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An image went viral in late November of Sarah Dzafce smiling but with the corner of her eyes stretched back. A caption in Finnish that translated to “eating with a Chinese” was added.
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The gesture is mainly seen as disrespectful toward Chinese, Japanese and Korean people, as well as being racist.
Dzafce, 22, shared an apology Dec. 8 to Instagram that was written in Finnish, saying the photo “caused ill will in many people.”
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“That was not my intention in any way … One of the most important things for me is respect for people, their backgrounds and differences,” she wrote, according to a translation.
Three days later, Dzafce was removed as Miss Finland and the title was transferred to first runner-up Tara Lehtonen.
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“I want to start by offering my deepest apologies to everyone I have hurt, especially the Asian community,” Dzafce said at the press event on Dec. 11, reported the Helsinki Times.
Dzafce claims gesture was reaction to headache
Dzafce, whose father is from Bosnia and mother is Finnish, explained the photo was shared to a private group by a friend and the caption was added without her knowledge. She claimed the gesture was a reaction to a headache and pressure in her eyes during a meal.
“I hope this action shows how seriously we take the situation. Racism is never acceptable,” she said.
A day later, Finnish politician Juho Eerola, who represents the populist Finns Party, posted a photo of the same gesture in support of Dzafce.
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He denied it was racist and told Finnish broadcaster Yle that the image posted to the social platform X was a lighthearted poke at the controversy.
“Some people might see it that way, but my understanding is that it is not generally considered racist,” Eerola claimed while on official business travelling through Brussels Airport.
Eerola dismissed critics who say otherwise.
“This is completely absurd,” he told Ilta-Sanomat. “She has an immigrant background and surely knows what racism is. If this counts as racism, then everything starts to count as racism.”
Eerola has since apologized for the gesture.
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Embassies in China, Japan, South Korea issue apologies
On Wednesday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, whose National Coalition Party leads a four-party coalition government with the Finns Party, apologized for the controversy.
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“These posts do not reflect Finland’s values of equality and inclusion,” Mr Orpo said in statements released by Finnish embassies in China, Japan and South Korea, reported Britain’s Sky News.
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On Sunday, the Miss Finland Organization released a statement after awarding Lehtonen the crown.
“Miss Finland does not accept racism, discrimination or hate speech in any form,” the organization wrote.
“We stand with both former Miss Finland/Miss Universe Finland Sarah Dzafce and current Miss Finland Tara Lehtonen. Both are part of the Miss Finland community and deserve respect.”
The organization added human dignity applies to all and expects “respectful and appropriate public discourse from all parties.”
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