Miss World 2025 Controversy: 'Made To Feel Like A Prostitute', Miss England Milla Magee Quits Pageant Midway, Flies Out From Hyderabad

Miss England 2024 Milla Magee, who was in India to participate in the 72nd edition of Miss World being hosted in Hyderabad, India, has quit the pageant midway, due to “ethical reasons”. The organisers have put down her exit as "personal reasons" while Magee, the first Miss England to drop out of the Miss World pageant in over seven decades, alleged that she was "forced to socialise" with middle-aged men. She also said that the "exploitation" she faced was against her idea of Miss World, which she believed was "beauty with a purpose".

Magee landed in India on May 7 as one of the 110 beauty queens who would participate in Miss World, set to conclude with its grand finale on May 31. However, she has quit the show and her replacement, Miss England ­runner-up Charlotte Grant, has also flown to Hyderabad.

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Magee told The Sun about her exit from Miss World, "This is so wrong. I didn’t come here to be farmed out for people’s entertainment. Miss World is supposed to have the same values, but it’s outdated and stuck in the past. They made me feel like a prostitute. At one point I tried to talk about the causes I was supporting but it was obvious the men at the table were not interested. Instead, there was weird small-talk that left me feeling uncomfortable. We were there to please these people and sit like ­performing monkeys. I couldn’t stand it.”

“Tipping point came when they were allegedly asked to socialise with middle-aged men as a gesture of appreciation for their financial contributions to the event,” she further revealed.

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According to Magee, contenders were told to wear make-up and ball gowns all day, including at breakfast. "Morally, I couldn’t be a part of it," she shared.

She also claimed that she felt disrespected when she was called "boring" by an official of the pageant, further alleging that she felt the "pressure to conform" to win or get far in the pageant. “I couldn’t take it any more. Miss World needs to change,” she said.

After Magee's allegations, Julia Morley, Chairman and CEO of Miss World Organisation released a statement, saying, “Earlier this month, Milla Maggie requested to leave the competition due to a reported family emergency involving her mother’s health. We responded to Milla’s situation with compassion and immediately arranged her return to England, placing the well-being of the contestant and her family first. Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that certain UK media outlets have published false and defamatory statements, allegedly made by Milla Maggie, regarding her experience in India. These claims are completely unfounded and inconsistent with the reality of her time with us."