This beauty queen dropped out of a Las Vegas pageant to stand up for body positivity
Miss Iceland 2015, Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir, dropped out of a beauty pageant in Las Vegas in protest, after the competition's owner told her that she was fat and would need to diet in order to win.
Jónsdóttir claims the owner of the Miss Grand International contest, a Thai TV presenter named Naway Itsaragrisil, ordered her to lose weight, the Daily Beast reports. Of course, Jónsdóttir isn't the first beauty pageant contestant to be ridiculed for her weight by a pageant's owner. Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, of Venezuela, has been fat- and slut-shamed by Donald Trump, as has been widely reported during the current election.
Jónsdóttir got a message saying, "Stop eating breakfast, eat just salad for lunch and drink water every evening until the contest." She was also told that she received the instructions because the owner "likes" her and wants to see her do well. In protest, Jónsdóttir quit the competition, according to the Daily Beast. She told the Iceland Star:
"If the owner of the contest really wants me to lose weight and doesn't like me the way I am, then he doesn't deserve to have me ... Yes, my shoulders are a bit broader than the other girls' but that is because I was a member of the Icelandic national athletics team and I am proud of that. Of course, I don't take these comments to heart, but to do my best then hear this... Personally, I think I'm fine as I am."
At first Jónsdóttir planned on going home as soon as she dropped out of the competition, but now she's decided to stick around Las Vegas until October 26 to "eat good food" and see the city.
