Controversy Erupts as Miss Finland's Photo Ignites Racism Debate

Wed Dec 17 2025 13:07:14 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A viral photo of Sarah Dzafce, Miss Finland 2025, has sparked global outrage due to perceived racist implications, leading to her dethronement and public backlash across East Asia.

Finland's Miss Universe 2025, Sarah Dzafce, faced intense criticism after posting a photo where she appeared to mock East Asian features. Dubbed 'thoughtless and stupid' by Finnish officials, the incident escalated into a racism firestorm, resulting in her dethronement and affecting the reputation of Finland and its national airline amidst calls for boycotts. Despite her apology, the fallout continues as politicians and advocates seek accountability, highlighting persistent racism in Finland.

Finland's delegate to last month's Miss Universe pageant held in Thailand has sparked a racism firestorm over a viral photo that showed her pulling the corners of her eyes.

Sarah Dzafce, who has been dethroned, uploaded the photo with the caption eating with a Chinese. The slanted-eyes pose is often seen as disrespectful to East Asians.

The post drew backlash in Japan, South Korea, and China against the 22-year-old and even against her country's flag carrier, Finnair.

Back home in Finland, the prime minister said on Monday making such gestures was thoughtless and stupid and that the controversy that ensued was damaging to the country.

Ms Dzafce claimed the gesture was her reaction to a headache during dinner. She said a friend added the offensive caption to the 11 December post without her consent, according to local tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.

Ms Dzafce has apologized for the photo, noting it has caused ill will in many people. 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 on an Instagram post.

The apology still drew criticism, with some calling it insincere given it was written in Finnish.

Two right-wing MPs in Finland, Juho Eerola and Kaisa Garedew, posted photos of themselves mimicking Ms Dzafce's gesture to show their support for the beauty queen. The posts were taken down after backlash. Eerola apologized, adding he felt Ms Dzafce was given disproportionately harsh punishment.

The Finnish Prime Minister condemned the MPs' actions as childish, adding that lawmakers should set an example of proper conduct.

Finland's flag carrier Finnair told public broadcaster Yle that the controversy had affected the company, and that there had been calls for tourists to boycott Finland. The statements or posts mentioned by some Finnish members of parliament do not represent the values of Finnair, the airline wrote on its Japanese X account on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a petition for an investigation into anti-Asian discrimination in Finland has gathered over 7,000 signatures. The Finnish embassy in Japan acknowledged receiving numerous opinions and questions about Finland's efforts to address racism.

The controversy around Ms Dzafce is a postscript to a chaotic Miss Universe audition hosted in Thailand that had been hounded by walkouts and allegations of rigging.

The Miss Finland Organisation stated that dethroning Ms Dzafce was a difficult but necessary move, emphasizing that Miss Finland holds a position of role-model status, which requires respecting all people regardless of their origin, background, or appearance.