Miss Iceland Drops Out of Beauty Contest After Being Told to 'Stop Eating Breakfast'

Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir waved goodbye to the Miss Grand International competition after officials told her she was too fat.

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Miss Iceland 2015, Arna Ýr Jónsdóttir, is the latest beauty queen to make a graceful exit from a beauty competition after allegedly being told she was too fat. The beauty contestant dropped out of the Miss Grand International competition after she was allegedly told to go on a strict diet prior to the contest's show time in Vegas on Tuesday night. 

Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but in pageant world, contestants were apparently encouraged to skip the meal if they were struggling with their weight. "Stop eating breakfast, eat just salad for lunch, and drink water every evening until the contest,” Jónsdóttir told the Iceland Monitor a contest spokesperson demanded of her. 

But instead of dieting, Miss Iceland took that as a sign to bow out of the show. "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," Jónsdóttir told the Icelandic paper. "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."

The pageant queen also announced that she was dropping out on Instagram on Oct. 24. "If anyone tells me that I’m too fat or whatever, they just don’t deserve me. And that’s why I left. Miss Grand International doesn’t deserve my face, body, personality or heart," she wrote in a "goodbye" letter she shared on her personal Instagram account. "I truly hope that the organization opens their eyes because the year is 2016 and if you are gonna hold an international pageant, you have to be able to see the international beauty."

Unfortunately, this all too common in the pageant world. Miss Universe winner Alicia Machado also shared her pageant horror story earlier in Sept. 2016, alleging former owner Donald Trump harshly commented on "the massive amount of weight" she gained. 

The Miss Grand International committee has yet to release a statement addressing Jónsdóttir's allegations. But the official pageant website states that the show is the "world's leading international beauty pageant," and seeks to make "a stand for the betterment of humanity." It seems Jónsdóttir and the pageant would have to agree to disagree on that one. 

 

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