Miss Finland has been stripped of her crown after she made a ‘racist’ slanted eye gesture in a social media post saying she was ‘eating with a Chinese person’.
Sarah Dzafce – who won the beauty contest just three months ago – was pictured using her fingers to stretch her eyes into a slanted shape.
This gestures was considered to be derogatory towards Asian people.
The caption underneath read ‘kiinalaisenkaa syömäs’, which roughly translates to ‘eating with a Chinese person’.
It was posted on the German social media app Jodel.
Ms Dzafce initially claimed that she was rubbing her temples and stretching her eyes due to a ‘severe headache’.
But she has since apologised for the gesture.
As a result of the racism storm, Ms Dzafce was dethroned as Miss Finland after being crowned in September.
The Miss Finland organisation said they do not accept racism or any form of discriminatory behaviour in a statement on Wednesday.
The following day, the organisation apologised for the incident and announced that Ms Dzafce was stripped of her title during a press conference.
Tara Lehtonen, who finished as runner-up in September, was crowned the new Miss Finland.
Ms Dzafce, who has a Finnish mother and a Kosovan father, apologised for her actions at the press conference.
The model, who was born in the Finnish city of Oulu, said: ‘I am very sorry to everyone I have offended and hurt by my actions on social media.’
After being named as the new Miss Finland, Tara vowed to make the most of her opportunity.
She told her Instagram followers: ‘Today, I have accepted the title of Miss Finland 2025.
‘I promise to carry this title with pride and great respect.
‘This is a completely exceptional situation, and the fact that my role as Miss Finland begins in the middle of the year makes this journey different from usual.
‘Although the starting point is not traditional, I will do my best to turn it into an opportunity and to carry out my task well and with dignity.’
