Miss Iceland Arna Yr Jonsdottir earned social media support and acclaim after quitting a Las Vegas beauty pageant when the owner told her to lose weight if she wanted to win.
Jonsdottir was named Miss Iceland 2015 and went on to compete in the Miss Grand International beauty contest, owned by Thai TV personality Nawat Itsaragrisil. According to the Daily Beast, Jonsdottir said she got a message from the owner saying, “Stop eating breakfast, eat just salad for lunch and drink water every evening until the contest. [The owner] is telling you this because he likes you and wants you to do well in this contest.”
Instead of complying with the request to lose weight, Jonsdottir quit the competition.
“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 Iclandic national athletics team and I am proud of that,” Jonsdottir said in a statement to the Iceland Monitor, The Daily Beast reported.
Miss Iceland said she didn’t take the owner’s comments to heart, adding, “Personally, I think I’m fine as I am.”
Jonsdottir has been flooded with support on social media for refusing to be body-shamed. Instead of leaving Las Vegas after quitting the pageant, Jonsdottir decided to stay, explore the city, and “eat good food,” she posted on Instagram.
Jonsdottir says she does not plan to compete in any more beauty contests in the future.
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