14 DAY TRIAL // Miss Bumbum Brazil is now at its third edition and, while the idea of having a beauty pageant that ranks women’s behinds might seem a bit ridiculous, in Brazil it’s a huge deal, making of the winner a national star.
As such, it’s no wonder that some of the women competing for the big prize are terribly upset because they believe the contest is rigged and that winners have already been picked long before the finals.
Officially, Miss Bumbum Brazil 2013 will name the winner and the runner-up on November 15, during an event that will draw media representatives from all over the world. Until then, voting for one’s favorite is possible but, as Poliana Lopes and Sheyla Mell claim, it’s completely futile.
They allege that two young ladies have already bribed organizers to name them winner and runner-up – Mari Sousa, 25, and Eliana Amaral, 24, the Daily Mail reports.
According to the two women, Amaral paid £18,000 ($29,136 / €21,100) to be named winner of the second spot in the competition, which means Sousa, the winner, must have bribed the organizers with more.
Considering that the big prize is of £20,000 ($32,306 / €23,413) in several modeling contracts and a small cash prize, if this is true, it’s clear that the girls aren’t doing it for the money but for the publicity and the exposure.
“It's no longer a secret to anyone that Miss Bumbum has been bought and already has a winner, Mari Sousa. I'm very sad because the result isn't deserved, and her bottom isn't the most beautiful, which in a serious contest would be more right. I hope filling her pockets with money makes her happy,” Lopes says.
Her claims are backed up by another contestant, Sheyla Mell, who says that it’s a disgrace that Miss Bumbum 2013 can’t be picked on merits. She also asks for a boycott of the finals, inviting the other finalists (there are 15 of them, including the four mentioned here) to skip the November 15 event.
“I want to thank everyone for voting for me, but we're in Brazil where everything has a price. I'm annoyed because all the other contestants have worked hard, only to find out that a winner has already been chosen. Don't waste any more time voting for me,” Sheyla says on Twitter, as cited by the aforementioned publication.
Miss Bumbum organizer Cacau Oliver has refused to comment on the allegations.
As for the boycott, she even imagines how that would play out, saying, “Then there would just be the ‘winner,’ the judges and the organizing committee. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be? And we should demand back the money we paid to enter (although I think that will be difficult).”